Rocks at Port-Goulphar, Belle-Île
1886
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
66 × 81.8 cm (26 × 32 3/16 in.); Framed: 83.9 × 100.4 × 9.9 cm (33 × 39 1/2 × 3 7/8 in.)
Classification
painting
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
20545
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Belle-Île, a small island off the southern shore of Brittany, was known for its dramatic cliffs, rock formations, and grottoes. As he often did, Claude Monet misjudged the time he would need to explore and capture the beauty of the place, which he variously called “lugubrious,” “terrifying,” and “very beautiful.” He came for two weeks and stayed for more than two months. This canvas is one of a group depicting the frieze of rock formations known as Port-Goulphar.
About the Artist
Claude Monet · 1840–1926
Claude Monet, born Oscar-Claude Monet on November 14, 1840, in Paris and raised in Le Havre, Normandy, began his artistic journey as a successful teenage caricaturist. His formal training started at the Le Havre secondary school of the arts in 1851, where he received his first drawing lessons from Jacques-François Ochard. Around 1858, he met Eugène Boudin, who became his pivotal mentor, introducin...