Ice Floes, Claude Monet, 1893
By Ryan Pachay
Claude Monet’s artwork Ice Floes, painted in 1893, captures a moment in time where
nature meets winter filled with snow. The artwork shows a river clashing with a blizzard and the
area being hit by it. The painting is filled with icy blue colors, grayish, and a dash of yellow here
and there mixed with the whites to represent snow and the yellow sort of representing sunlight
creating light, shadow, and a reflection in the lake of the trees surrounding that part of the water.
Monet’s brushwork really gives the piece texture making the blizzard almost alive. The texture
shows which way he’s going with the brush revealing what way the wind and snow are falling
across the whole piece.
At first glance you can see in the painting a lot of jagged lines, irregular lines creating
the trees, and parallel lines creating the piece of land in the artwork. Each one shimmering with
hints of whites and blue as if it’s reflecting from the cold winter sun. The cool tones definitely
dominate the canvas showing a lot of shades of icy blue and a soft gray contrast repeated along
the sky. This choice of color not only adds to the visual impact but also brings to mind the chill
of winter, showing a rough yet beautiful landscape. The texture of the ice is noticeable because
of Monet’s use of thick strokes bringing a real life quality to the work, bringing the piece to life.
The artwork is very well balanced with a harsh mix of the blizzard and the texture from
the blizzard as well, then the view being the water, the trees and the sky under the layer of the
blizzard. The flowing lines of the river create a sense of movement, showing attention to the
interaction between the stillness of the ice and the ripples of the water that are there as well.
Monet’s brushstrokes vary in width and intensity, with softer strokes capturing the fluidity of the
river, while more strong strokes make the harsh edges of the ice.
I chose to look at Monet’s Ice Floes because I have always been drawn to art that has the
relationship between light, atmosphere, and nature, and Monet’s ability to capture that snowy
moment is both fascinating and emotionally capturing in my opinion. My first impression of the
painting was a calm scenery beauty because I also like winter and it’s very ambient with colors
that capture and show a chilly winter scene. And as I continued to observe, the painting began to
feel more alive. The contrasts of color, the use of light, and the feeling of movement within the
frozen ice made the scene appear much more alive.
Claude Monet’s Ice Floes is not just an artwork of ice and snow, it is an exploration of
time, nature, and the combination of light and form. The use of color, texture, line, and
brushstroke that makes the ice into a living scene with a sense of peacefulness. The painting
shows reflection on the passage of time and the nature of beauty. In choosing this piece, I gained
a deeper understanding of Monet’s Impressionist techniques, and the way he used them to create
a vision of the world.
