On_the_Bank_of_the_Seine,_Bennecourt
On the Bank of the Seine, Bennecourt
1868 painting by Claude Monet
On the Bank of the Seine, Bennecourt (Au bord de l’eau; Bennecourt) or River Scene at Bennecourt is an 1868 oil on canvas painting by Claude Monet, now in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, to which it was given by the Palmer family in 1922.[1]
The picture portrays Monet's model, partner and future wife Camille Doncieux looking back from an island in the Seine towards the village of Gloton on the outskirts of Bennecourt, where they were temporarily staying with their young son, Jean.[2] It was painted at a low point in Monet's life: after being thrown out of their Gloton rooms he threw himself in the river the following night (with no serious after effects) before returning home to Paris alone.[3]