Banks of the Seine at Lavacourt (Bords de la Seine a Lavacourt)

This canvas is part of a group of views that Monet painted depicting the town of Lavacourt from the banks of the Seine. The Monet family moved into a tiny house in Lavacourt in the summer of 1878. Family tensions, and financial distress were compounded by his wife Camille’s ill health. By the summer of 1879, he was desperate to sell some paintings, and worked on this series of views. After Camille’s death in September, Monet’s financial difficulties and the gradual disaffection within the Impressionist group, led Monet to again consider submitting work to the Salon. Consequently, a large studio view of Lavacourt was exhibited in the Salon of 1880.