La Pointe de la Hève at Low Tide

Monet seemingly developed this large showpiece in direct response to similar compositions submitted to the Salon of 1864 by Charles-François Daubigny and his son Karl. (Around this time Monet owned a small landscape by Daubigny.) Daubigny had attempted to execute his Salon painting entirely on the spot, away from the shelter and convenience of a studio, in what would soon become orthodox practice for the so-called Impressionists. But in 1864 Monet still worked in a more traditional fashion: he first painted his landscape at the site as a portable-scale work (The National Gallery, London), then made the present, larger version at his Paris studio during the first months of 1865 in preparation for the Salon.