Monet, Claude (1840-1926)
Camille au métier (Madame Monet Embroidering)
1875
Oil on canvas, 65.5 × 56 cm
Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia
Though Monet preferred painting in the open air, for this work he brought his easel indoors to capture his first wife, Camille Doncieux, sitting at her embroidery loom. Quietly absorbed in her task, Monet‘s figure recalls the scenes of 17th-century Dutch masters, who were enjoying a revival in France at the time. Even indoors, light remains a primary concern for the artist; the touches of white flicker across the front of Camille‘s dress, creating a tapestry-like texture that perhaps alludes to her work on the loom. (Barnes)
See also:
• Doncieux, Camille (1847-1879)