However two years later, in 1987, Commissioner Mireille Balestrazzi, head of a special police art thievery unit, travelled to Japan to recover four paintings by French landscape painter Jean Baptiste Camille Corot.

Time passed, and it appeared as if all hope was lost. By the time the police were informed of the crime, there was very little they could do because the alarm systems of the museum were only switched on during closing hours. The nine works that were primarily stolen consisted of paintingsby Monet, but also included portraits depicting the impressionistic master and works by other members of his latter 19th-century circle, such as Renoir and Berthe Morisot. The gunmen also very politely bought tickets to the museum before they donned their masks and unleashed hell by first taking control of the guards within seconds. The theft of this masterpiece along with eight others took place within five minutes by five masked gunmen on a Sunday morning of October 27, 1985. One thing Impression, Sunrise has in common with Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisais a spectacular, movie-worthy theft that left the world gaping at newspapers. He was criticised for abandoning old, traditional painting techniques.Īlso Read | Behind the Art: Why is Diego Velázquez’s Las Meninas one of the most written about paintings of all time? Many were confused as to what Monet was trying to show and why the title is called Impression. Most critics did not think Impression, Sunrise was one of the most notable pieces of art when it was first exhibited. Despite what the painting meant to signify, he was heavily criticised for painting this piece. Art historians claim that the representation of Monet’s hometown as a centre of commerce and industry is meant to celebrate the renewed strength and beauty of the country. He wanted to highlight the industrial growth following the defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71. Behind them, are mostly shapes that are not trees but steamships and on the right, in the distance, there is chimes and masts silhouette against the sky.

The painting depicts two small rowboats in the foreground with more fishing boats in the middle ground. Monet wanted to paint the view of the port of Le Havre at sunrise, which he remarkably did but in a very ‘blurry’ manner. In an interview, he said “They wanted a title for the catalogue it couldn’t really pass as a view of Le Havre, so I answered: “Put down Impression.” Critics say he used this word as a ‘joke’ to excuse his painting from accusations of being unfinished or lacking descriptive detail, but the artist received criticisms regardless of the title. The genius of a painter that changed the landscape of modern art claimed that he titled the painting ‘Impression, Sunrise’ due to his hazy painting style. Impression, Sunrise depicts the port of Le Havre, Monet’s hometown.

Impression sunrise location