During his second visit to Pourville in summer 1882, Monet painted at least fifty-eight pictures, most of which are views of the cliffs, the beach, and the Normandy coast near Pourville and the neighboring Varengeville. This picture was painted on the cliff between the two villages. Another version is in a private collection in Switzerland.

The rich painterly effects achieved through brushstrokes and exaggerated pastel tones emphasize the two-dimensional surface of the canvas, as does the absence of any indication of human scale.

Inscription: Signed and dated (lower right): Claude Monet 82

[Durand-Ruel, Paris, 1883–86; bought from the artist in December 1883; sold in 1886 to Fuller]; William H. Fuller, New York (1886–d. 1902; sale, American Art Association, New York, March 13, 1903, no. 152, as "Cliff at Pourville," for $3,100 to Durand-Ruel); [Durand-Ruel, New York, 1903–7; stock no. 2880; sold January 10, 1907 to Emmons]; Arthur B. Emmons, New York and Newport (1907–d. 1922); his widow, Julia W. Emmons, New York and Newport (1922–d. 1956)

Brussels. Les XX, Brussels. Palais des Beaux-Arts. "Troisième exposition annuelle des XX," February 6–March 7, 1886, no. 9 (as "Sur la falaise à Pourville," lent by M. Durand-Ruel).

New York. American Art Association. "Works in Oil and Pastel by the Impressionists of Paris," April 10–28, 1886, no. 295 (as "On the Cliff").

New York. National Academy of Design, New York. American Art Association. "Works in Oil and Pastel by the Impressionists of Paris," May 25–June 30, 1886, no. 295 (as "On the Cliff").

New York. Union League Club. "Paintings by Old Masters, and Modern Foreign and American Painters, together with an Exhibition of the Work of Claude Monet the Impressionist," February 12–14, 1891, no. 54 (as "The Cliffs," lent by W. H. Fuller, possibly this picture).

New York. Lotus Club. "Pictures by Claude Monet," January 1899, no. 20 (as "On the Cliff," lent by W. H. Fuller).

New York. Durand-Ruel. "Exhibition of Paintings by Claude Monet," January 26–February 14, 1907, no. 10 (as "Bords de la falaise à Pourville," possibly this picture).

"A Late Art Exhibition." World 26 (May 25, 1886), p. 8.

P. H. "L'Exposition de Monet à l'Union League Club, New York." L'Art dans les Deux Mondes no. 15 (February 28, 1891), p. 173.

"W. H. Fuller's Monets Sold, Only $31,400 Paid for the Eleven Pictures." Sun 70 (March 14, 1903), p. 2.

Madeleine Octave Maus. Trente années de lutte pour l'art: 1884–1914. Brussels, 1926, p. 43 n. 2.

Luigina Rossi Bortolatto. L'opera completa di Claude Monet, 1870–1889. Milan, 1966, p. 103, no. 231, ill.

Charles Sterling and Margaretta M. Salinger. "XIX–XX Centuries." French Paintings: A Catalogue of the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 3, New York, 1967, p. 134, ill.

Douglas Cooper. "The Monets in the Metropolitan Museum." Metropolitan Museum Journal 3 (1970), pp. 291, 294–96, 302–3, 305, fig. 17.

Daniel Wildenstein. "1882–1886: Peintures." Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné. 2, Lausanne, 1979, pp. 6, 8, 44 n. 465, pp. 46–47 n. 484, pp. 76–77, no. 752, ill.

Frances Weitzenhoffer. "The Earliest American Collectors of Monet." Aspects of Monet. New York, 1984, p. 80.

Daniel Wildenstein. "1899–1926: Peintures." Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné. 4, Lausanne, 1985, p. 1 n. 7.

Daniel Wildenstein. "Catalogue raisonné–Werkverzeichnis: Nos. 1–968." Monet. 2, 2nd ed. Cologne, 1996, p. 281, no. 752, ill. (color).

Daniel Wildenstein. Monet or the Triumph of Impressionism. 1, 2nd ed. Cologne, 1996, pp. 179–80.

Joseph Baillio and Cora Michael in Claude Monet (1840–1926): A Tribute to Daniel Wildenstein and Katia Granoff. Exh. cat., Wildenstein & Co., Inc. New York, 2007, p. 164.

Eric M. Zafran in Claude Monet (1840–1926): A Tribute to Daniel Wildenstein and Katia Granoff. Exh. cat., Wildenstein & Co., Inc. New York, 2007, p. 94.

This is one of the many studies Monet made of the Normandy coast cliffs. It depicts a section of the bluff overlooking the sea between the towns of Pourville and Varengeville.