Woman with a Parasol

Woman with a Parasol—Madame Monet and Her Son depicts Monet's wife Camille and their young son Jean on a breezy summer afternoon in a meadow near Argenteuil, France. Painted in a single outdoor session, the work exemplifies Monet's commitment to plein air painting and his sustained interest in capturing fleeting effects of light, wind, and atmosphere. Camille stands in three-quarter profile against a luminous sky, her white dress and parasol animated by the wind, while Jean appears partially obscured by the crest of the undulating hill below her. The upward viewpoint and bold compositional cropping give the scene an immediacy and spontaneity characteristic of Impressionism at its height. Loose, energetic brushwork throughout conveys the shimmer of sunlight on fabric, cloud movement, and the rustling of grass, making the painting one of Monet's most celebrated figure compositions.