The year 1875 marked a difficult moment for Monet. Sales of his work, and thus his income, were down significantly from the preceding years. The group of friends who had organized the first Impressionist exhibition of 1874 could not agree on the terms of a second exhibition, and the March 1875 auction that was held instead produced poor prices. Yet Monet pressed forward, continuing to paint pictures remarkable for their calm beauty and intimation of life unencumbered by worry. In his views of Argenteuil days are always sunny, poppies bloom continuously, children cavort freely, and ladies have nothing more pressing to do than to stroll with their parasols. In this respect his work of the mid-1870s resembles that of Camille Corot, who died in February 1875. Like Corot at Ville-d'Avray, Monet chose motifs close to home—and improved on them.

This beautiful, archetypal Impressionist landscape betrays neither Monet's personal concerns nor those of the town of Argenteuil. Little could the viewer have realized that the plain of Gennevilliers, depicted here, had become a dumping ground for Parisian effluent. We must recognize, then, that Monet's painting was an act of consolation (for himself) and reassurance (for his prospective patrons) that nature and simple pleasures would endure.