1870 -1890s · Argenteuil, Giverny and fields in bloom

Monet's poppies punctuate the meadows with red and transform the rural promenade into an immediate experience of color, air and light.

Claude Monet painted poppies at several points in his career, from Argenteuil to the vicinity of Giverny. In the famous canvas of 1873, Camille and their son Jean descend a field where red spots punctuate the slope. The pattern there then remains a privileged area for observing the wind, depth and the diffusion of light in the grass. Monet does not isolate each flower: he suggests them with quick touches, the repetition of which makes the gaze circulate in the landscape. In Giverny, the fields become colorful surfaces where paths, millstones, trees and human silhouettes measure the extent of the countryside. The "Coquelicots by Claude Monet" selection notably compares Champ de poppies in Giverny and Champ de poppies. His reading favors the story.

In Monet, the poppy is less of a described flower than a red spark that sets the entire landscape in motion.