Upon arriving in Rouen in 1892, Claude Monet set out to create a series of paintings of the town’s magnificent gothic cathedral. The completed series, depicting the cathedral in a variety of light and atmospheric conditions, represented a landmark in the history of modern painting.

Twenty years prior to his arrival in Rouen, Monet had painted the Rouen Cathedral. Painted before the onset of the impressionist movement, the young Monet’s cathedral was part of a larger landscape, and the building’s details were obscured by distance. As you will see, the differences between this early painting and the cathedral series illuminate Monet’s tremendous artistic developments.

Whereas Monet’s earliest painting portrays the cathedral as a complete, distinct entity, the cathedral series treats the building as a sandbox where the artist could explore his ideas about light and atmosphere. He leaves out the cathedral’s tower and jutting spires, focusing almost exclusively on the ornate façade. However, as with his paintings of haystacks and poplars, the façade serves less as a subject in itself than as a surface where Monet could observe the effects of changing light and weather conditions.

As if all this weren’t enough, Monet completed many of the paintings in the studio, forcing him to draw on his memory. However, rather than detracting from his work, the reliance on personal memory underscores the importance of subjectivity in impressionism. Monet’s aim is not to paint a photo-realistic image of the cathedral, but rather to depict his own subjective perceptions.

The late art critic and museum director George Heard Hamilton called the Rouen Cathedral series the “climax of impressionism.” He wasn’t the only one to feel this way; from the initial exhibition in 1895, critics have praised the series’ ambitious scope. Although Monet would continue to paint in series, his depictions of the Rouen Cathedral remain the works that most epitomize the defining qualities of impressionism: the emphasis on the artist’s fleeting sensations and perceptions over the concrete qualities of his subject.