OIL PAINTING: Snow at Argenteuil , 1874
Many of the impressionists, Monet included, painted outdoors, a practice made easier by the recent invention of paint in tubes. Their primary goal was to capture on canvas the atmosphere of a particular moment in time through the use of color and light. In this painting - Snow at Argenteuil , Monet has successfully conveyed the feeling of a late winter day in Argenteuil, a suburb of Paris. There is a sense of dampness and chill in the air; however, the snow seems to be melting, as the multiple greens of the grass and many browns of the path emerge from underneath. The sky is not simply gray, but also includes pale pinks and yellows, perhaps indicating the approach of the clearer skies of spring.