Woman Seated under the Willows

A woman wearing a hat rests on a stretch of green grass, shaded by tall willow trees that lean over her. Across the water behind her, a small town comes into view, rendered in gentle washes of green, blue, and yellow that blend the figure into her surroundings. The piece, titled Woman Seated under the Willows, was created in 1880 by Claude Monet in oil, and it is held today at the National Gallery of Art. Monet, who lived from 1840 to 1926 and worked as a French painter, was associated with Impressionism and also created Impression, Sunrise. One detail worth noticing is how the willow branches seem to filter the light, scattering soft color across the woman's figure and the grass around her, giving the whole scene a quiet, drifting calm.