Haystacks (Monet series)
Light's fleeting dance on rural stacks, captured in color.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
The Haystacks series by Claude Monet, painted between 1890 and 1891, is a landmark in Impressionist art, capturing the subtle variations of light and atmosphere on stacks of harvested wheat in the fields near his home at Giverny. Though often associated with the 1888 harvest, the series primarily consists of works created over a later, concentrated period, with Monet producing multiple canvases to document changing conditions at different times of day and seasons.
- Total paintings in series
- 25 (standard catalogue raisonné)
- Primary creation period
- 1890–1891
- Location
- Fields near Giverny, France
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Notable exhibition
- 1891 at Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris
- Current locations
- Museums worldwide, including Musée d'Orsay, Art Institute of Chicago, and National Gallery of Scotland
Lore & Background
Monet began the Haystacks series in the autumn of 1890, after a summer of observing the stacks near his home. He initially intended to paint a few studies but soon became obsessed with recording the same motif under varying light, weather, and seasonal conditions. Working simultaneously on multiple canvases, he would switch between them as the light shifted, sometimes completing six to eight paintings in a single day. The series grew to 25 canvases, each distinct in its palette and mood, from the cool blues of winter to the warm golds of summer.
Reader's Guide
The Haystacks series is among Monet's most notable works. It is one of his earliest to rely on repetition to illustrate nuances in his perception across natural variations such as times of day, seasons, and types of weather. Although the mundane subject was constant throughout the series, the underlying theme may be seen as the transience of light. This concept enabled Monet to use repetition to show nuances of perception as the time of day, the seasons and the weather changed. The first paintings in the series were started in late September or early October 1890, and he continued producing these paintings for about seven months. These paintings made Monet the first painter to paint such a large quantity of pictures of the same subject matter differentiated by light, weather, atmosphere and perspective. The largest Haystacks collections are held at the Musée d'Orsay and Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris, and in the Art Institute of Chicago. Other collections include the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Metropolitan Museum and Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo, and the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris. The Art Institute of Chicago collection includes six of the twenty-five Haystacks.
Did You Know?
- Monet painted the Haystacks series from 1890 to 1891, not primarily during the 1888 harvest; only one or two stack paintings date to 1888.
- Historical records indicate Monet worked on up to six or eight canvases per day, not ten to twelve, as he chased changing light conditions.
- The series was exhibited in 1891 to critical acclaim, with each painting priced at 1,000 francs, and all sold within days.
- Monet built a special studio on wheels to move his canvases between stacks and capture precise lighting effects.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Haystacks series by Monet?
It is a group of 25 oil paintings Claude Monet produced between 1890 and 1891, all depicting the same wheat stacks in the fields near his Giverny home. The series is dedicated to showing how the appearance of those stacks shifts with the time of day, the season, and the weather.
How many canvases are in the Haystacks series?
The standard catalogue raisonné counts 25 paintings in total. Monet painted them during a concentrated working period so he could record the same subject under many different lighting and atmospheric conditions.
Where were the Haystacks painted and where can I see them today?
Monet worked outdoors in the fields just outside Giverny, France, using oil on canvas. The finished works are now held in museums around the world, with notable examples at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the National Gallery of Scotland.
Why is the Haystacks series considered a landmark in Impressionism?
It demonstrated that a single, static subject could be painted repeatedly solely to isolate the effects of fleeting natural light, pushing the movement beyond fleeting outdoor sketches toward a more systematic study of atmosphere. The 1891 showing at Galerie Durand-Ruel in Paris helped solidify Monet's reputation as an artist obsessed with changing light rather than fixed form.
What painting technique did Monet use for the Haystacks?
He worked directly in the Giverny fields with loose, visible brushstrokes, layering oil paint to capture rapid shifts in color temperature and tonal value. The technique prioritized the sensation of light moving across the wheat over any precise rendering of the stacks themselves.
More in Iconic Paintings 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced