The Seine at Bas-Meudon1865 · Study 1993.236

Context from the museum

Although born and trained in Holland, Jongkind spent much of his life painting outdoors in France. In this depiction of Bas-Meudon near Paris, the artist applied paint in small patches of bright color to suggest the intensity of outdoor light. Although typcially finished in the studio from open-air sketches, Jongkind's oil paintings achieve a convincing immediacy that greatly impressed the young Claude Monet. The two met in the early 1860s and spent part of a summer painting together along the coast of Normandy. "From that time he was my real master," Monet later acknowledged, "it was to him that I owe the final education of my eye."

Museum description reproduced from its CC0 open-access record. Read the original catalog entry.

A detail to notice

Fellow artist Edouard Manet considered Jongkind the "father of modern landscape painting."

Observation supplied by the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected unframed measurement for The Seine at Bas-Meudon is 48.1 cm wide and 34.1 cm high, equivalent to approximately 18.9 × 13.4 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 1.41:1. The rectangular bounding area is 0.16 square meters; it describes the measured footprint, not the amount of paint or the monetary value.

On an illustrative 300 cm wall, the recorded width occupies 16.0% of the span before adding a frame. A centered placement leaves approximately 126.0 cm on each side before adding a frame. These are calculations by Physical Art For Crypto using museum measurements. They are not the museum’s display recommendations.

Questions to bring to your own collection

With The Seine at Bas-Meudon in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, oil on fabric, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this horizontal composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 48.1 cm width still suit the space after allowing for furniture and a frame?
• What surface detail would you need to see in person or in a close photograph?