Poplars, Row in Autumn 1891

Claude Monet captured this row of Poplars in oil paint, embracing the fleeting beauty of an Autumn day. Living in a time of significant social change in France, Monet, like many impressionist artists, moved away from traditional academic painting and found beauty in everyday life. Painted en plein air, the work embodies a sense of immediacy and the changing nature of experience. Monet’s paintings are all about light and atmosphere, but how might we think about these trees as representing more than just a landscape? Poplar trees have often been associated with mourning and loss, and with their upright stance they may evoke a sense of resilience. Here, Monet invites us to not only see but also feel the emotional weight of the landscape. It’s a reminder of art's capacity to reflect and shape our understanding of the world and our place within it.