Claude Monet

Durand-Ruel, Paris (acquired from the artist on April 23, 1900)

Durand-Ruel, New York (acquired from the above on February 20, 1901 and until 1949)

Sam Salz, New York

Acquired by the present owner circa 1968

Paris, Georges Petit, Monet, 1898, no. 11 or 12

Paris, Durand-Ruel, Claude Monet, 1900, no. 22

New York, Durand-Ruel, Exhibition of Paintings by Claude Monet, 1902, no. 27

Chicago, The Art Insitute, Paintings by Monet, 1975, no. 93

Gustave Geffroy, "Cl. Monet," L'Art et les artistes, Paris, 1920, no. 11, discussed p. 73

Lionello Venturi, Les Archives de l’Impressionnisme, vol. 1, Paris and New York, 1939, discussed p. 376

Daniel Wildenstein, Claude Monet, Biographie et catalogue raisonné, vol. III, Lausanne-Paris, 1979, no. 1401 illustrated p. 185; vol. IV, letter 541, no. 1550, p. 347

I Norge: Monet en Norvège (exhibition catalogue), Rogaland Kunstmuseum, Stavanger; Musée Rodin, Paris, 1995, illustrated p. 181

Daniel Wildenstein, Monet, Catalogue raisonné, vol. III, Cologne, 1996, no. 1401, illustrated p. 581

Monet completed Le Fjord, près Christiania while visiting his stepson, Jacques Hoschedé in Norway in 1895.  His interest in the region had also been piqued by seeing several paintings of the dramatic Norwegian landscape by his friend Frits Thaulow at the Paris Universal Exposition of 1889.  The exhibition of these pictures had a lasting effect on Monet, and when presented with the opportunity in 1895, he set out for himself to see the crystalline colors of the Scandinavian.  Oscar Reuterswärd gave the following account of the artist’s enthusiasm: “Of course, Monet should take his trip to Norway!  It was a magnificent thought to exchange the polluted atmosphere of France for the crystal-pure air of the Nordic countries!  And for the light of winter, the hoarfrost effects, the snow-covered mountains, their majestic silhouettes.  In eloquent terms, Thaulow spread Norway out for Monet’s inner eyes as the promised land of painters” (Oscar Reuterswärd, “Monet,” reprinted in Charles F. Stuckey, ed., Monet, a Retrospective, New York, 1985, p. 166).

The present work is a view of the Fjord of Oslo as seen from a boat along the Sandvika.  In the distance are the small islands of Krakholmen and the Nesodden Peninsula.  This view, of which he painted four oils and one watercolor, was one of Monet’s favorite vistas in Norway.  His initial reaction to this land, however, was one of hesitation. The scenery seemed too foreign to him and he worried that he would have to spend several years there before he could understand the barren, icy complexities of the land.  It only took him a few weeks, though, to find inspiration in a theme that would become a favorite in his mature career: the play of winter light on the surface of snow and ice, or effets de neige.  Le Fjord, près Christiania is a lovely exploration of this theme.  Despite the constantly changing effects of the Norwegian light and weather, Monet was able to render the landscape with the same ease and skill that he demonstrated in his depictions of the sunny French countryside.  With its vibrant bands of icy blues and greens and soft depiction of fading light on the fjord, this painting evokes the solitude and noble beauty of this remote landscape.