Rapids On The Petite Creuse At Fresselines

Monet spent the spring of 1889 painting the landscape around the confluence of two rivers, the Petite Creuse and the Grande Creuse, at the village of Fresselines in central France. For this view, which is nearly identical to another picture (private collection), he positioned his easel on the steep bank of the ravine edging the Petite Creuse, looking down on the shallow rapids from above. The resulting composition omits the sky and other indicators of depth, creating an ambiguous space that produces a strongly two-dimensional effect.