La Pointe de la Hève, Sainte-Adresse
- Artist: Claude Monet
- Date: 1864
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Museum: The National Gallery
- Collection record: The National Gallery website
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About this artwork
This is "La Pointe de la Hève, Sainte-Adresse" painted in 1864 by Claude Monet. The painting shows the Normandy coast, a place Monet knew well from his childhood in nearby Le Havre. He was particularly drawn to this area and spent several summers painting sea views here.
In this piece, we see an empty shingle beach with a desolate air. Three figures in a boat are rowing towards us, wrapped up against the cold. Smoke rises from the chimney of the cottage on the cliff, and sailing boats can be seen racing along the horizon in the distance.
The way Monet has used paint to suggest the pebbles on the beach is quite striking, with crisp dabs of colour creating a textured effect. The broad flat brushstrokes surrounding the boat and conveying its reflection on the water hint at the direction his art would take in future.
This painting was likely made as a study for a larger studio piece that Monet showed at the Paris Salon in 1865. It's an important work, marking the beginning of Monet's public career after he had it accepted by the salon.
See it in person
La Pointe de la Hève, Sainte-Adresse hangs in The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
