Claude Monet (French, 1840-1926) The Cliff, Étretat, Sunset, 1882-83 23 13/16” x 32 3/16” Oil on canvas North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, Purchased with funds from the State of North Carolina 67.24.1

The Cliff, Étretat, Sunset, 1882–83
Oil on canvas
North Carolina Museum of Art, Purchased with funds from
the State of North Carolina 67.24.1

Here Monet silhouetted the elephantine form of the Porte-d’Aval (the “upstream portal”) and its “Needle” against the streaked clouds and multicolored hues of the sunset sky. The spiky Needle, which actually projects from the sea several yards beyond the 275-foot arch, melds with the arch into a single form.

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