A free virtual exhibition of 15 works by Claude Monet that you can walk through in your browser, on desktop or phone, with nothing to install. The room traces his career from the seaside at Sainte-Adresse to Giverny, including Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare and his late Water Lilies.
About Claude Monet
Claude Monet (1840–1926) was a French painter and a founder of Impressionism. Raised in Le Havre, he learned from Eugène Boudin to paint outdoors, directly in front of his subject. His painting Impression, Sunrise, shown at the first independent exhibition of 1874, gave the movement its name. Monet was fascinated by how light and atmosphere change what we see, and from the 1890s he worked in series, painting the same motif, such as stacks of wheat, Rouen Cathedral or the Houses of Parliament, at different times of day and in different weather. In 1883 he settled at Giverny, where he created a garden and water-lily pond that became the subject of his last great decades of work. His loose, vibrant brushwork and focus on perception opened the way for much of modern painting.
Highlights in this room
Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare
In 1877 Monet painted a sequence of views inside the Paris station, where steam and smoke fill the glass-and-iron shed. The train is almost dissolved into vapor and light. It shows that Impressionism could embrace modern industrial life as fully as gardens and rivers.
Stacks of Wheat (End of Summer)
Part of his celebrated series of 1890–91, this canvas studies two stacks in the fields near his house at Giverny under warm, late-summer light. The subject is humble; the real theme is the color of air at a particular moment. The series marked Monet's shift toward painting the same motif again and again.
Houses of Parliament, London
Painted from his London views around the turn of the century, the Gothic towers of Westminster appear as a silhouette through fog over the Thames. Monet built the scene from veils of related color rather than hard edges, capturing London's famous atmosphere.
Water Lilies
The water-lily paintings from his garden pond occupied Monet for nearly three decades. With no horizon and no shoreline, the surface of the water becomes the whole picture, holding flowers, reflections and sky at once. These works are often seen as a bridge to twentieth-century abstraction.
How to enjoy the exhibition
- Step close, then step back. Walk up to a work to see individual brushstrokes, then move away and watch them merge into light and shimmer.
- Look for colored shadows. Monet rarely painted shadows gray. Notice the blues and violets in shade and snow.
- Follow the timeline. Compare an early, crisp beach scene with the late water lilies to see how his brushwork loosened over sixty years.
- Compare the series pictures. The wheat stacks, Parliament and water lilies each belong to larger series; click a work to read its label and imagine its siblings.
- Take your time. Monet's paintings reward a slow look. Pause in front of one work and let your eye adjust to its palette.
New to this format? Here is a short guide to what a virtual gallery is and why it suits paintings like these.
Create a room like this for your own work
This room was built with Xibit360, the same tool any artist can use. You can light and frame each work individually, set the mood with themes and layouts, exhibit video works alongside still images, and embed the finished room on your own website. Painters can give each canvas the light it needs, whether a bright seascape or a dark nocturne. It is free to start, and upgrades are one-time purchases, with no subscription.
Know an artist who should see this?
If you know a painter, printmaker or photographer whose work deserves a space like this, send them this page. They can walk through the room above to see what is possible, and picture their own work on the walls.
FAQ
Is the Monet virtual exhibition free?
Yes. The exhibition is free to visit in your browser, and you can walk through all 15 paintings at your own pace.
Can I view it on my phone?
Yes. The same walkable space works on desktop and on phone, so you can explore the room wherever you are.
Are Monet's Water Lilies in the exhibition?
Yes. The room includes Water Lilies, Water Lilies (Agapanthus) and Water Lily Pond, together with other Giverny subjects such as Poppy Field and Branch of the Seine near Giverny (Mist).