The Doge's Palace (Le Palais ducal)
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
During his only trip to Venice in 1908, Claude Monet painted this view of the Doge’s Palace façade from a gondola in the Grand Canal. Long romanticized in the public imagination, the city had recently become more accessible through new railways and guidebooks. A tourist himself, Monet focused on landmarks such as the Doge’s Palace, the government building designed in the fourteenth century to resemble the architectural style of Venice’s trading partners in the Mamluk Sultanate (present-day Egypt and Syria). Monet downplays the material details of the iconic site, focusing instead on rendering his impression of sunlight and shimmering water in loose, overlapping strokes of color. As he stated in a letter, “The palace that features in my composition was just an excuse for painting the atmosphere.” Although Monet painted directly in front of his motifs, he reworked his Venetian canvases in his Giverny studio in preparation for a 1912 exhibition.
Caption
Claude Monet French, 1840–1926. The Doge's Palace (Le Palais ducal), 1908. Oil on canvas, 32 × 39 in. (81.3 × 99.1 cm) frame: 41 1/4 × 49 × 3 1/2 in. (104.8 × 124.5 × 8.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of A. Augustus Healy, 20.634. No known copyright restrictions (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 20.634_PS11.jpg)
Tags
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
The Doge's Palace (Le Palais ducal)
Date
1908
Geography
Place made: Europe
Medium
Oil on canvas
Classification
Dimensions
32 × 39 in. (81.3 × 99.1 cm) frame: 41 1/4 × 49 × 3 1/2 in. (104.8 × 124.5 × 8.9 cm)
Signatures
Signed and dated lower right: "Claude Monet 1908"
Credit Line
Gift of A. Augustus Healy
Accession Number
20.634
Rights
No known copyright restrictions
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Frequent Art Questions
Did Monet really paint this scene while sitting in a gondola on the water?
It is true!This captures Venice perfectly. Have you been there?
No I haven't been to Venice, though Monet definitely captures it beautifully. He painted many of his works in a series, capturing the same place at different points of the day to get to the essence of light and color at any given place.If you visit our special Francisco Oller exhibit on the 4th floor, you'll see some other beautiful Monet paintings, as well as other Impressionists.Thank you!I love this serene, beautiful outdoor scene by Theodore Robinson! What drew you to this work?
The way it's painted and how gentle it is in the colors and the woman's expression. Also the fact that I don't know anything about the painter.Theodore Robinson is considered one of the first American Impressionists, a movement that began in, and is largely associated with, France. William Merritt Chase and Childe Hassam, two artists whom we have on view on the 5th floor, are also considered American Impressionists.The Impressionists were concerned with capturing fleeting moments resulting in often quickly painted works with visible, varying brushstrokes. There is another work by Robinson on that same wall as well as 2 works by Monet, a noted French Impressionist! Robinson even went to France to study with the French Impressionists and became close friends with Monet.Loved the Monet paintings! Absolutely beautiful.I agree, seeing Monet is always a treat! I especially love the reflection on the water in "The Doge's Palace," the colors are so vibrant.Yes! One of my favorites! Was it always here? I feel like I've seen it somewhere else? Do you have any info on it?Monet is famous for creating many versions of the "same" painting. Because the Impressionists were interested in light and capturing the effects, he would often sit at the same site for a long period of time, painting different canvases of the same thing at different times of the day to see the changing light effects. There is a painting at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan that looks similar to this, yes! I do believe our version has also been on view for some time, so it's possible you've seen it here before as well.I probably saw the one at The Met. I am from Brazil so this is my first time here.Oh, well, welcome to Brooklyn! Yes, you may have seen the Met's version. Although, I think it is easy to confuse various paintings by Monet because the subject matter, colors, and style can be so similar.That's true, thanks!Of course!The water reflecting the palace is amazing!
The Doge's Palace, or Palazzo Ducale, is a Gothic-style building where Venice's doges (magistrates) lived. Monet indicated the pointed arches and arcades of the Palace in this view, but you're totally correct, his main interest as a painter is the light, and its constantly shifting reflections in the water!Take a look at his loose use of short brushstrokes, not a polished surface, but a painterly style that lets us think about the movement of light and air, and the way we perceive things around us.I love this!
That's one of my favorite paintings on view! Monet and his wife, Alice, traveled to Venice together. Although they were on holiday, he kept a strict painting schedule.Every morning at 8 am he took a boat out to a spot in the canal halfway between the Doge's Palace and the island of San Giorgio Maggiore. I imagine it was difficult to position the boat in the same spot each day!What do you like best about this painting?I really appreciate the Venetian Gothic style of the palace. His rendering is beautiful.I agree—he captured the way the palace seems to float on the water. There is a building here in Brooklyn that was built to resemble a Venetian Gothic palace! It is called the Montauk Club.Thank you so much for your knowledge!Tell me more about this work by Monet, please.
This work by Monet captures Doge's Palace. Monet is famous for creating many versions of the "same" painting. He would go back at different times of day and sit at the site (in this case in a gondola) for a long period of time to capture the palace in different lights.Why did Monet visit Venice?
Monet, like many of his contemporaries, visited Venice because it was a popular art historical and picturesque spot. However, this legacy daunted him, and he delayed going until late in his career, in 1908, when he was 68.The fantastic architecture and views were a big draw, despite how intimidating he found them.Great thanks!Would this be considered one of Monet’s better works?
That's an interesting question! It is certainly one of the best-known works from his sojourn in Venice.The interesting thing about Monet's paintings is that they are often conceived of in groups; he would paint the same view many times, at different times of day and lighting conditions. So it can be difficult to say that one painting from the group is the best.What do you think of the painting?It’s really well blended and highlights the landscape well, curious to know how long it took for him to become mature as an artist.I agree! I think he really captured the way the light shimmers on the surface of the water.Monet was 33 when he painted "Impression: Sunrise" a painting which was many people rejected for being too loose, but which is now recognized as being a very important early Impressionistic painting (and the one that gave the movement its name).Many of his best known paintings (his Waterlilies and views of the Rouen Cathedral) were painted when he was in his 50s. By the time Monet went to Venice, he was 68 and an established painter.There is another Monet on view in the Infinite Blue exhibit on the first floor. It is of the Houses of Parliament in London and was painted 5 years before his Venice trip.Very interesting facts, thank you for the info. Will be sure to check out Houses of ParliamentTell me more.
During Monet's trip to Venice, he painted the city's most famous sites from various perspectives including the pictured, Doge's Palace.As an Impressionist who was interested in capturing the effect of light, he would often sit at the same site for a long period of time to see and paint the effects of changing light.Venice fused Monet's passion for architecture and the sea. He would actually paint from a boat in the canal en plein air. The painting was finished when he returned to his studio in France.
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