OIL PAINTING: Haystacks, Overcast Day , 1884
Modernist, too, are the "serial" paintings to which Monet devoted considerable energy during the 1890s. The most celebrated of these series are the haystacks (1891) and the facades of Rouen Cathedral (1892-1894). In these paintings Monet painted his subjects from more or less the same physical position, allowing only the natural light and atmospheric conditions to vary from painting to painting . That is, Monet "fixed" the subject matter, treating it like an experimental constant against which changing effects could be measured and recorded. This technique reflects the persistence and devotion with which Monet pursued his study of the visible world.