Why Did Claude Monet Paint the Same Scenes Over and Over Again? The Impressionist Artist Was Obsessed With Capturing the Fleeting Nature of Time

In the winter of 1892, Claude Monet started painting Rouen Cathedral in France. The artist had secured an apartment across from the towering church for this express purpose. Depending on the season and the time of day, the building’s facade might be gold, pink, purple or gray.

The painter returned to Rouen the following winter, eager to continue the project. Now, some of those canvases are going on view at Tate Modern in London. The show opens in February 2027, just a few months after the 100th anniversary of Monet’s death.

Monet created “a new style of painting: capturing fleeting moments amid the accelerating pace of modern life,” the museum says in a statement. As train travel grew more popular in the mid-19th century, a need for standardized time zones arose. Monet explored this theme in paintings including Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare (1877).

But the artist was particularly interested in documenting how time altered individual scenes, such as the facade of Rouen Cathedral. The exhibition will display several series of this kind, including Monet’s Grainstacks paintings (1890-91), which feature different views of the farmland outside his house in Giverny. For me, it is only the surrounding atmosphere which gives subjects their true value.” Museumgoers will also see works from Monet’s Mornings on the Seine series (1896-97).

For two summers, the artist woke in the early morning hours and walked to the river. He painted these canvases from a small boat, positioning himself at the center of his scenes. One highlight of the exhibition is The Seine at Port-Villez (1894), another view of the river painted a few years earlier.

Conservators have been working diligently to remove a protective varnish that had yellowed over the years. Monet disliked varnishes, which can distort a painting’s colors and textures, though his dealers frequently used them anyway. The newly restored painting will debut at the upcoming exhibition.