Unloading Coal by Claude Monet

Claude Monet's Unloading Coal (21-5/8x26 inches) is an oil on canvas housed at the Musee d'Orsay in Paris.

Claude Monet painted Unloading Coal in 1875. In this view of the Clichy dock, the silhouetted forms of the porters, making their way across the narrow ramps with their heavy loads, punctuate the sweep of the river from the foreground of the composition into the deep distance.

Framed at the top of the composition with the broad arch of the Clichy Bridge, the painting is suffused with a warm, pale gold light. This work was one of 29 works Monet presented in the fourth Impressionist exhibition.

On the next page, take a look at An Apartment Corner, one of Monet's rare interior scenes.

To learn more about art, famous artists, and art history, check out:

• How Art Works
  
• Impressionism
  
• Michelangelo
  
• Vincent van Gogh