Peaches 1883

Claude Monet painted these Peaches using oil on canvas; he was at the forefront of the Impressionist movement in France. Monet and his contemporaries broke from academic traditions, choosing instead to capture the fleeting, sensory experience of the world around them. Impressionism coincides with a period of rapid industrialization, urbanization, and shifts in social structures. As class structures shifted, artists looked to capture the intimate and domestic sphere. Monet's paintings of domestic scenes provided an insight into the daily lives of the rising middle class, in France. Monet developed his distinctive style with loose brushstrokes and attention to light. Here, each peach is a jewel-like study in color. He captures a specific moment in time, preserving the ripeness of each fruit. With Peaches, Monet draws us into a world of sensory experience.