An Impression of Winter by Claude Monet

What impression do you have of winter?

Perhaps you’re a snowbird who escapes the cold for warmer climes.

Perhaps you’re a winter sports fan who loves nothing more than gliding down the slopes with the wind in your hair and the scenic beauty whizzing past.

Perhaps you love to snuggle up next to a roaring fire, hot drink in hand, watching the snow fall.

We all have a slightly different impression of winter depending on our perspective.

In 19th-century France, a group of artists led by Claude Monet made quite an impression on the art world.

They realized that how we see the world is not in all its detail, but as an “impression”, with our minds filling in the gaps.

Capturing this “impressionistic image” in paint was their specialty.

It gave them the opportunity to use color and light to convey those “fleeting moments” that stay with us as memories.

Monet loved the changing light of the seasons.

In his paintings of winter, we can feel the cold yet bask in the warmth of their beauty.

A feast for the senses. Food for the soul.

The Boulevard de Pontoise at Argenteuil, Snow Effect by Claude Monet - 1875
The Boulevard de Pontoise at Argenteuil, Snow Effect by Claude Monet – 1875
Snow Scene at Argenteuil by Claude Oscar Monet - 1875
Snow Scene at Argenteuil by Claude Oscar Monet – 1875
Skaters at Giverny by Claude Oscar Monet - 1899
Skaters at Giverny by Claude Oscar Monet – 1899
The Banks of the Fjord at Christiania by Claude Oscar Monet - 1895
The Banks of the Fjord at Christiania by Claude Oscar Monet – 1895
Snow at Argenteuil by Claude Oscar Monet - 1874-1875
Snow at Argenteuil by Claude Oscar Monet – 1874-1875
Sandviken Village in the Snow by Claude Oscar Monet - 1895
Sandviken Village in the Snow by Claude Oscar Monet – 1895
Route, effet de neige, soleil couchant (Snow Effect along a Road with Setting Sun) by Claude Oscar Monet
Route, effet de neige, soleil couchant (Snow Effect along a Road with Setting Sun) by Claude Oscar Monet
Road to Giverny in Winter by Claude Oscar Monet - 1885
Road to Giverny in Winter by Claude Oscar Monet – 1885
Road at Louveciennes, Snow Effect by Claude Oscar Monet - 1869-1870
Road at Louveciennes, Snow Effect by Claude Oscar Monet – 1869-1870
Red Houses at Bjornegaard in the Snow, Norway by Claude Oscar Monet - 1895
Red Houses at Bjornegaard in the Snow, Norway by Claude Oscar Monet – 1895
Mount Kolsaas, Rose Reflection by Claude Oscar Monet - 1895
Mount Kolsaas, Rose Reflection by Claude Oscar Monet – 1895
Mount Kolsaas by Claude Oscar Monet - 1895
Mount Kolsaas by Claude Oscar Monet – 1895
Lavacourt, Sun and Snow by Claude Oscar Monet - 1878-1881
Lavacourt, Sun and Snow by Claude Oscar Monet – 1878-1881
Lavacourt in Winter by Claude Oscar Monet - 1879
Lavacourt in Winter by Claude Oscar Monet – 1879
Ice Floes, Misty Morning by Claude Oscar Monet - 1894
Ice Floes, Misty Morning by Claude Oscar Monet – 1894
Ice Floes on the Seine at Bougival by Claude Oscar Monet - 1867-1868
Ice Floes on the Seine at Bougival by Claude Oscar Monet – 1867-1868
Houses in the Snow, Norway by Claude Oscar Monet - 1895
Houses in the Snow, Norway by Claude Oscar Monet – 1895
Grainstacks in the Morning, Snow Effect by Claude Oscar Monet - 1891
Grainstacks in the Morning, Snow Effect by Claude Oscar Monet – 1891
Grainstacks at Sunset, Snow Effect by Claude Oscar Monet - 1890-1891
Grainstacks at Sunset, Snow Effect by Claude Oscar Monet – 1890-1891
Frost by Claude Oscar Monet - 1885
Frost by Claude Oscar Monet – 1885
Frost by Claude Oscar Monet - 1875
Frost by Claude Oscar Monet – 1875
Floating Ice near Bennecourt by Claude Oscar Monet - 1893
Floating Ice near Bennecourt by Claude Oscar Monet – 1893
Floating Ice by Claude Oscar Monet - 1880
Floating Ice by Claude Oscar Monet – 1880
Entering the Village of Vetheuil in Winter by Claude Oscar Monet - 1879
Entering the Village of Vetheuil in Winter by Claude Oscar Monet – 1879
Coming into Giverny in Winter, Sunset by Claude Oscar Monet - 1885
Coming into Giverny in Winter, Sunset by Claude Oscar Monet – 1885
Church at Jeufosse, Snowy Weather by Claude Oscar Monet - 1893
Church at Jeufosse, Snowy Weather by Claude Oscar Monet – 1893
Boulevard St-Denis, Argenteuil, Snow Effect by Claude Oscar Monet - 1875
Boulevard St-Denis, Argenteuil, Snow Effect by Claude Oscar Monet – 1875
Amsterdam in the Snow by Claude Oscar Monet - 1874
Amsterdam in the Snow by Claude Oscar Monet – 1874
A Cart on the Snow Covered Road with Saint-Simeon Farm by Claude Oscar Monet - c. 1865
A Cart on the Snow Covered Road with Saint-Simeon Farm by Claude Oscar Monet – c. 1865
White Frost by Claude Oscar Monet - 1875
White Frost by Claude Oscar Monet – 1875
View of Argenteuil in the Snow by Claude Oscar Monet - 1875
View of Argenteuil in the Snow by Claude Oscar Monet – 1875
Train in the Snow, the Locomotive by Claude Oscar Monet - 1875
Train in the Snow, the Locomotive by Claude Oscar Monet – 1875
The Seine at Port Villez, Snow Effect by Claude Oscar Monet - 1885
The Seine at Port Villez, Snow Effect by Claude Oscar Monet – 1885
The Seine at Bougival by Claude Oscar Monet - 1869
The Seine at Bougival by Claude Oscar Monet – 1869
The Road to Vetheuil, Snow Effect by Claude Oscar Monet - 1879
The Road to Vetheuil, Snow Effect by Claude Oscar Monet – 1879
The Road in Vetheuil in Winter by Claude Oscar Monet - 1879
The Road in Vetheuil in Winter by Claude Oscar Monet – 1879
The Road by Saint-Simeon Farm in Winter by Claude Oscar Monet - 1867
The Road by Saint-Simeon Farm in Winter by Claude Oscar Monet – 1867
The Magpie by Claude Oscar Monet - 1869
The Magpie by Claude Oscar Monet – 1869
The Effect of Snow at Limetz by Claude Oscar Monet - 1886
The Effect of Snow at Limetz by Claude Oscar Monet – 1886
The Church at Vetheuil, Snow by Claude Oscar Monet - 1878-1879
The Church at Vetheuil, Snow by Claude Oscar Monet – 1878-1879