"The 1860's were a decade of dynamic change in paintings, a period in which tradition and innovation were fused in the work of major independent non-academic artists like Renior, Edouad Manet, Edgar Degas, and Claude Monet to produce a new style of painting aptly reflecting the modern age.  Impressionist artists rejected dark transparent shadows, subtle tonal modeling, somber hues and earth colors of academic chiaroscuro.  Instead they advocated bright colors, thinly pale-primed canvases and mat, opaque paint surfaces that were uniformly loaded.  Developments in the 1860's paved the way for these changes, each of which can be related to the new characteristics of modern painting material."

The mechanical production of colors played a central role in this change.  Many sound bright transparent colors were available but traditionalists considered these crass and vulgar.  However it was precisely these colors, usually with the addition of opaque stable lead white, which were included in the palettes of Manet, Degas, Renior, Monet and the Impressionists.

Pale colors tend to advance visually, and dark ones to recede.  Courbet attempting to persuade the youthful Monet to adopt dark grounds in the early 1860's, was well aware of these advantages when he commented that on a brown ground you can dispose your lights, your colored masses; you immediately see your effect.  Isolated examples exist of early works by Monet from this decade, executed on dark grounds inspired by Courbet.  Monet later adopted pale grounds almost universally because of their brilliance.  For this reason, Impressionist artists paintings were characterized by its critics as exhibiting nothing but manual dexterity.

Amid this revolution of impressionists involved in the changes of artist’s materials, merchants were providing new and better products monthly and yearly.  As the newest paints became available the group was experimenting to receive the best results.  The colors used in this discovered masterpiece Monet did of Camille were the known colors used on Monet's palette at this time.  All of these colors were available, some were ancient.  In this 1869 painting (135), Monet continued to use some of these colors while changing to others, and by the end of the 1870's changed again.  See Pigment Analysis Chart. 

The dating of this masterpiece can be determined by knowing which paint colors became available for use and when.  Chrome yellow and lemon yellows continued to be used along with viridian green and ultramarine blue.  Although the yellows were replaced by the end of the 1870's with more stable cadmium yellows,

lead white was used by Monet consistently throughout his career.  The natural organic root derivative madder lake was replaced by the more permanent artificial alizarin discovered in 1868.  A conclusion can be drawn that this discovered masterpiece was painted by Monet after he met Camille and before 1868 - An approximate 3 year window or around the same time as Camille with a Small Dog (64), Camille, or the Woman with a Green Dress (65) Head of a Woman (sketch).  The four paintings depict a young 19 year old Camille Monet before childbirth as is evidenced in this discovered masterpiece.

By the early nineteenth century, ready made canvases were being sold in France in a standardized range of sizes for easel painting.  The range spanned from a small (No. 3) canvas measuring approximately 6 inches (15.5cm) by 8 inches (20.5cm), to the largest (No. 120) measuring approximately 6 feet (1.9 meters) by 4 feet (1.2 meters).  At the time the metric scale had not been fully established.

In the early 1830's, a longer landscape format was introduced and by the 1850's five series were available.  The code-numbering of portrait formats probably has its origin in the seventeenth century where pieces were sold according to cost - thus for example, a canvas costing 20 sous became canvas size No. 20.  (Note the number on the bottom stretcher bar of this masterpiece.)  Monet purchased smaller ready made canvases because they were easy to put under his arm when it was time to sell the finished picture.  They also experimented with unusual canvas shapes.  Monet and Degas were among the artist consistently experimenting with novel formats and compositions.  A variety of different weights and weaves of canvas fabrics were sold commercially for artists use.  Linen was the most common but cotton and hemp fabrics were also used.  Ready made canvases were sold on wooden stretchers by merchants of the 1850's. 

Elizabeth Jones, former Chief Conservator of painting at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, has noted that in their collection of Monet paintings, all those which can be dated before 1881 have colored primed layers on the canvas; usually of light brown, pinkish gray or off-white.  Monet and the Nineteenth Century Palette, Dr. Askok Ray, National Gallery Bulletin Vol. 5, pg. 22 (1981)

“Among the Impressionists Monet and Pissarro both preferred a single coat, primed, grainy texture.”  “While white was the most common color for ready primed canvases in the nineteenth century, a wide range of pale tinted preparations were also available on off-the-peg canvases.  These included beige, cream, pinkish gray, bluish gray, putty, milk-chocolate brown and oatmeal”  Quantum Books, Techniques of the Great Masters of Art, (2003) pg. 161

Upon close examination of the canvas and stretcher bars of this discovered masterpiece it was learned that the canvas is a semi-fine or half fine weight canvas primed with one or two coats of gray.  Please note that the stretcher bars have a number or mark on the reverse indicating a commercial ready-made canvas. Click here

To his canvases, Monet applied a pale gray ground to a fine weave canvas allowing the texture to show through, then blocking in subjects using a thin scumbled paint.  The likelihood exists that Monet followed this same procedure when creating this discovered masterpiece.  On his ready made canvas he applied a pale gray ground, blocked in the area Camille was painted on.  Next he painted her face.  The thin paint indicates that he knew it so very well.  Next Monet would create her dress using his well recognized slurring wet-in-wet technique, later coming back to finish the outline around her body, and eventually doing the vase more than once.  Upon completion or sale of this masterpiece, Monet signed his work in the top right hand corner using burnt sienna then applied too liberal a layer of sealer or varnish.

After careful examination by Dr. Duane Chartier using a sterobinocular microscope, the signature was applied on top of cracked paint.  This indicates it was signed some time after it was completed.  This is typical of Monet's work.  He would not sign his work until it was sold.  Then once it was signed he would apply his all too liberal layer of sealer or varnish as shown in this discovered masterpiece.

An excellent example of Monet's slurring wet-in-wet technique which he is famous for can be seen in this discovered masterpiece.  Monet applied dabs of blues and reds, on white in small touches with a single stroke from a round ferrule brush.  The slurring done by a blending or fan shaped brush to mix all of the colors at once.  This technique of Monet's is well known and many examples are available.  Below are some of the best examples of Monet's wet-in-wet technique:

(135)   Bathers at La Grenouviller

(139)   Flower and Fruit

(163)   Meditation

(205)   The Reader

(543)   Camille Monet on her Death Bed

(546)   Still Life: Apples and Grapes

(1076) Study of a Figure Outdoors (facing right)

A good example of Monet’s technique of combining premixed hues on the canvas in a slurred wet-in-wet mixing can be seen in Camille's dress.  Other examples include:

(32) La Lieutenance at Honfleur - Notice the clouds and the street

(50) A Cart on the Snowy Road at Honfleur - Notice the snow

(132) The Luncheon - Notice the table cloth and the drapes

(133) The Magpie - Notice the snow and the clouds

(1261) Portrait of Suzanne with Sunflowers

Even after Camille's death in September 1879, he worked mostly indoors.  During the big freeze of December 1879 or the first few days of 1880, Monet completed the following masterpieces using his wet-in-wet technique:

(555) Frost

(557) Winter Sun, Lavacourt

(558) Winter on the Seine, Lavacourt

Monet continued this technique through out his life in many of his water-lily paintings:

(1656) Water-Lily Pond (The Clouds)

(1692) Still Life with Eggs

(1696) Water-Lilies

(1701) Water-Lilies

(1705) Water-Lilies

(1733) Water-Lilies

Dragging stiff, dry paint across the surface in broad strokes creating a latticed web of colors was also a favorite technique Monet used year after year.  An excellent example of this technique is Bathers at La Grenouviller (135).  Notice the dragging of long unbroken strokes outlining the boats.  Notice the similarities between The Beach at Trouville (158), the dragging of white on Camille's outline of her dress and over her lap as in this discovered masterpiece, and on her collar in Red Kerchief (257).

Monet's layering technique can be seen in this discovered masterpiece in the curtains behind Camille's head and under Monet's signature.  This gave him the needed reflections.  Other examples are:

(95)   The Clouds and Water

(101) Jean Monet in his Cradle

(173) Madam Monet - Meditation

The critics of the impressionists are now silent, an age gone by.  But if the old guard had fallen silent, the younger generation was beginning to show signs of dissatisfaction.  On one occasion, Signac who visited the Durand-Ruel exhibition before the official opening noted in his journal an opinion.  "Speaking of Renoir he justified a place in the Louvre."  He goes on to say - "Monet had done good work during the same period, but his early paintings were spoiled by poor colours and the successive layers of varnish, the composition was often week."  Wildenstein Catalog Vol.1 pg. 335

Note the successive layers of varnish, especially on the lower dress where water damage caused the removal of the excessive varnish on this discovered masterpiece.