Claude Monet

Painted not far from his house in Argenteuil, and likely begun outdoors, this work demonstrates Monet's interest in the changing effects of light and weather. Primed with a light-gray ground, the canvas can be seen through some of the thinly applied brushstrokes, while quick dabs of pigment and larger sweeps of color define the objects and the people. The path situates the viewer in the scene. The fence and meadow act as a framing device, so that like the pedestrians (and like the artist himself, as he painted) we can feel the cold, damp air and falling snow. Monet's decision to depict a snowfall in progress, and not simply a winter scene of fallen snow, reflects the influence of Japanese Ukiyo-e prints.