Claude Monet Painting in his Studio

In the summer of 1874 Manet vacationed at his family's property in Gennevilliers, just across the Seine from Monet at Argenteuil, and the two painters spent much of the season working side by side. This painting records one of those sessions: Monet at work on his studio boat — a vessel he had converted into a floating studio around 1871–73, from which he could study the changing light on the river — with his wife Camille seated beside him. Renoir also painted at Argenteuil during this period, producing his Madame Monet and Her Son; Monet painted Manet at his easel during the same summer. Manet's time working alongside Monet coincided with a noticeable shift in his practice toward a lighter palette and more sustained outdoor painting. Although Manet declined to exhibit with the Impressionists — their first independent exhibition was held that same year — art historians regard the Argenteuil summer as a turning point in his work. The painting is held in the Neue Pinakothek in Munich, part of the Bavarian State Painting Collections.