Claude Monet's 'Bathers at La Grenouillère'

This is a description of 'Bathers at La Grenouillere', by Claude Monet painted in 1869. It is oil on canvas, 73cm high by 92cm wide, in a substantial but not overly ornate gold frame.

This painting captures a vibrant scene of contemporary leisure on a sunny day at the river. La Grenouillere or ‘The Frogpond’ was a resort on an island in the river Seine to the West of Paris, accessible to all classes with the coming of the railway. People stroll or gossip under the dappled shade of trees or bathe in the shimmering river. The movement of the water, and even light itself, is vividly conveyed through lively and varied brushmarks.

The viewpoint is from on the water, as if we are in a boat. In front of us are nine rowing boats, moored in two rough lines. These fill over half the height of the painting and two thirds of the width on the left, their prows or sterns pointing towards a thin wooden walkway that forms a bridge over the water. Running from left to right, the walkway divides the painting, a little over half way up. It runs from the bank on the left to an island known as the Camembert, which is beyond the right edge of the canvas.

The soft shapes of the leaves and branches of trees fill most of the top of the composition, except in the top right hand corner, where the bright silvery river narrows and curves away under a bright but hazy sky.

Most of the rowing boats have 2 planks across them as seats, and some have a pair of oars resting on them. They are painted in greens and browns with the occasional dash of orange and blue. Although the brushmarks are visible and apparently swift, the boats are strongly defined.

There is murky green water in the shade between them, but the bottom right of the painting is brighter, filled with horizontal, square-ended, overlapping strokes, in greens and blues. These capture the ripples of the water with their contrast of shimmering reflection and dark shadow.

There are figures on the bridge, to the left, two women strolling towards the bank. They are wearing the fashionable long dresses of the day, one in pale blue, one in a pinky grey over a red skirt. This adds an important little pop of colour in a painting of predominantly blues and greens.

To the right, a group of two women and a taller man with a brimmed hat stand gossiping, the central woman has her back to us, the other two are turned sideways towards her. The women wear dark knee length bathing suits, their hair tied up in scarves.

Another figure just left of centre appears to be walking to join the group, their almost black clothing providing a dark vertical accent.

Beyond the bridge on the left, the grassy bank runs down to the water with dabs of multicoloured paint hinting at flower beds. At the top of the bank is a tree painted with a flurry of greens ranging up to a bright warm yellow. Beneath it, dabs of white and dark blue suggest two women seated on the ground in the shade.

Behind the bridge to the left, is a shorter wooden jetty for the swimmers and beyond that the small figures of two more women, one in white, one in pale blue. They stroll on the bank in front of some shed like buildings. Tall straight trees reach up, catching the sunlight, and dark foliage runs along the top. Behind the bridge on the right, dabs of paint convey a crowd of bathers – you can almost hear the joyful sound of splashing and yelling. Beyond them the river flows into the distance into bright sunlight.

This painting is modern in every sense. The scene of contemporary leisure would have been frowned upon by critics who valued subjects taken from Greek myths or the Bible. Monet’s pioneering approach, working swiftly, on the spot to capture a moment of light and modern life would come to be known only a few years later as Impressionism.