Title: Le bras de Jeufosse, automne
Artist: Claude Monet (French, 1840-1926)
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 60.6 x 73.3 cm
Date Created: 1884
Description
In the autumn of 1884, Claude Monet created a series of ten riverscapes along the Seine near Jeufosse, a village two kilometers upstream from his home in Giverny. Le bras de Jeufosse, automne belongs to this pivotal group, where the artist eliminated all signs of modernity—railways and commercial traffic—leaving only a solitary rowboat to hint at human presence. The composition celebrates pure nature: the splendid autumn foliage of the Île de la Merville is mirrored in the shimmering water, while sky, land, and river engage in a delicate interplay of light and color.
Fresh from painting expeditions in Italy and the French Riviera, Monet returned to Giverny with a renewed vision. Here, he translates evanescent light effects into vibrant brushwork: horizontal strokes of blue and purple suggest rippling currents, while dots of red and blue dance across the surface, unifying the scene. His fascination with nature’s “patterns” in this series foreshadows the serial approach fully realized in his 1890s grainstacks. Like Émile Zola’s idyllic literary depiction of Jeufosse, Monet constructs a pastoral refuge—a silent celebration of flowing water and eternal autumn, captured in a moment of visual poetry.
Image Download
Image Dimensions: 3200 x 2618 pixels
Image Size: 1.34 MB
Image Format: JPG
Print Resolution: 300 dpi
Download Format: ZIP Archive
License: Public Domain, Free for Commercial Use
