Claude Monet’s choice of the popular seaside resort of Étretat, on the Normandy coast, for a working holiday in late January 1883 was perhaps prompted by the region’s fame as a recreational location. Étretat was situated directly above the beach, immediately to the right of the view depicted in Monet’s painting – but no indication is given here of the bustling presence of the town. The view has been framed instead to focus upon the awesome power of nature, whose majesty is underscored by the tiny scale of the waving figures at the water’s edge. There are, however, reminders of the relentless tourist paths beaten around Étretat – these can be seen in the heavy zigzags of the walking trails that surmount the cliff in the distance.

   Rough weather at Étretat seems to have been painted partly on the beach, directly in front of the motif. A single grain of sand still embedded in the surface of the paint hints at the chill wind and salt spray swirling around Monet as he worked outdoors on a winter’s day at the ocean’s rim. Rough surf was not uncommon at Étretat, where the pebbled ocean floor drops away very steeply, close to the shore. Monet made this pounding surf a central feature of his painting, and this motif was perfectly suited to the more vigorous brushwork he employed in the early 1880s.

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   Claude Monet's choice of the popular seaside resort of Étretat for a working holiday in late January 1883 was perhaps prompted by the region's fame as a recreational location, and was in keeping with ‘the impressionists’ interest in subject matter reflecting modern life, especially the leisure activities of the bourgeoisie. A popular haven since the 1830s for artists and writers, Étretat, on the Normandy coast, by 1883 had developed into a thriving tourist resort, celebrated for its views of three enormous natural stone arches (the Porte d'Aval, Porte d'Amont and Manneporte) and a spectacular rocky 'needle' carved from the surrounding cliffs by the ferocious action of the sea. In three short weeks Monet painted some twenty canvases, which recorded all three arches and the spiky 'needle' under varying climatic conditions.

   Parisians holidaying in Étretat could party in the town's lavish casino or retire to the many luxury villas scattered nearby. Monet stayed in the Hôtel Blanquet, whose advertisements boasted that 'every public and private room looks directly onto the ocean'. The hotel was situated extremely close to the beach, and the high viewpoint of many of the canvases produced during this trip shows that Monet often sheltered indoors from the inclement weather, painting 'nature' from the establishment's windows.

   Étretat was positioned directly on the beach immediately to the right of the view depicted in Monet's composition, but no indication is given here of the bustling presence of the town. The painting has been framed instead to focus upon the awesome power of nature (whose majesty is underscored by the tiny scale of the gesturing figures at the water's edge)— although signs of the relentless tourist paths beaten around Étretat remain in the heavy zigzags of the numerous walking trails that surmount the Porte d'Amont in the distance. Rough surf was not uncommon at Étretat, where the pebbled beach dropped away very steeply, close to the shore.

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