The Grainstacks, Giverny, Morning Effect

The two stacks in this picture stood in a field near Monet's home at Giverny, and they belonged to his neighbour, a farmer named Quéruel. After the harvest of 1888 Monet made five canvases with stacks as the main subject. In three of them, this one included, he kept the same pair against the same backdrop, the low hills along the left bank of the Seine with a few village houses off to the right, and let the hour and the weather do the changing. This one is the morning. He signed it and wrote the year, 89, in the lower left corner. These canvases came first. Monet returned to the stacks in earnest only in the autumn of 1890, painting them for about seven months, through the winter and into spring. This early morning view is in a private collection.