Jean Monet on His Hobby Horse (Jean Monet sur Son Cheval Mécanique), c. 1872 by Claude Monet

Jean Monet on His Hobby Horse, painted by Claude Monet in 1872 portrays the artist’s five-year-old son perched proudly on a wooden toy horse-and-cart in the garden of the family’s home in Argenteuil. Rendered in the dark, thickly brushed tones of Monet’s earlier style, the painting modernizes the tradition of dynastic child portraiture by centering a fashionable new toy rather than a real pony.

Artist: Claude Monet (French, 1840-1926). Date: c. 1872.

Jean Monet on His Hobby Horse (Jean Monet sur Son Cheval Mécanique), c. 1872. Impressionist Childhood Wall Art Canvas Print.

This edition is color-graded with deep, shadowed tones that plunge the garden backdrop into near-darkness, throwing the boy’s bright white outfit into dramatic contrast.