Monet created "Le Portail" and other cathedral views between 1892 and 1894 to capture impressions of light as it enveloped the magnificent Gothic church outside Paris.
Also known as "The Portal of Rouen Cathedral in Morning Light," the painting joins three Monet canvases already in the Getty collection: one from early in his career, "Still Life With Flowers and Fruit" (1869); one from the moment of the creation of impressionism, "Sunrise (Marine)" (1873); and one of his initial series paintings, "Wheatstacks, Snow Effect, Morning" (1891).
"This is one of the most exceptional paintings of the entire Rouen Cathedral series," said Deborah Gribbon, director of the Getty Museum and vice president of the J. Paul Getty Trust. "It was painted at a moment when the artist had fully mastered his new subject, but was still inventively experimenting with the richness of the cathedral's effects. It shows Monet moving beyond traditional landscape in his quest for pure painting."
Monet himself selected the painting for an 1895 exhibition at Durand-Ruel for which the impressionist landscape master chose only those examples he deemed "complete" and "perfect."
The Getty did not say how much it paid for the painting, but another Monet work, "Haystacks, Last Rays of the Sun" (1890), sold for $14.2 million last week.
Monet (1840-1926) initially intended to display his cathedral views together, explained Scott Schaefer, Getty paintings curator.
"The 30 shimmering views of the cathedral facade are unique to Monet's oeuvre," he said. "For the first and only time in his career, Monet concentrates on portraying another work of art."
In choosing the cathedral northwest of Paris on the Seine River, Monet abandoned his preference for natural subjects. He deliberately sought an unchanging motif, one that would enable him to concentrate on his perceptions and their translation into paint.
To keep the views constant, the artist worked from only three improvised studio spaces in the cathedral square, painting nine, and at the end, 14 canvases per day as he struggled to paint in the midst of sometimes inclement weather.
"Le Portail" shows the cathedral's grand west facade as it materializes at dawn.
"He was not interested in the cathedral as a religious symbol (though choosing it was a statement in itself) and even removed the cross surmounting the central pinnacle," Schaefer said. "Instead, the facade provided a fixed, immutable and richly textured gray surface for his real subject: the play of light and atmosphere as day overcomes the darkness of night. The effects he captures are both dramatic and incredibly subtle."
The Rouen Cathedral views in U.S. collections are located in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; the Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, Mass.; and the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Mass.
"LE PORTAIL"
What: The luminous painting, also known as "The Portal of Rouen Cathedral in Morning Light," is the first and only of Claude Monet's series of 30 Rouen Cathedral paintings to be viewed in a U.S. gallery outside the East Coast.
Where: J. Paul Getty Museum, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles.
When: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays; closed Mondays and major holidays.
Tickets: Admission is free. Parking is $5 per car. No parking reservations needed on weekends or after 4 p.m. weekdays.
Information: (310) 440-7300 or www.getty.edu/museum.