Claude Monet painted Étretat in a series of cliff and beach scenes.
Étretat is a Normandy resort on the English Channel, famous for its tall chalk cliffs and natural rock arches. Monet visited the town repeatedly and painted its dramatic formations from different viewpoints. The changing tide, weather, and sunlight allowed him to treat the same cliffs as continually changing visual subjects.
Among the landmarks associated with his Étretat paintings are the Porte d’Aval and the Manneporte. Monet’s compositions often emphasize the scale of the cliffs and the effects of sea and sky rather than presenting a simple topographical record.
Étretat is sometimes confused with other Normandy places Monet painted, including Honfleur, Trouville, and Dieppe. Those towns also appear in his coastal work, but Étretat is especially identified with monumental chalk cliffs and arches. The location remained a recurring subject during Monet’s mature exploration of landscape series.