Monet painted the dramatically arched projection in the cliff at Étretat six times from this angle: twice during each of three visits to the Normandy coast in 1883, 1885, and 1886. Compared to an earlier view, The Manneporte (Étretat) (51.30.5), this work reflects the brightening of Monet's palette that followed his trip to the Riviera in 1883. Likewise, by 1886, Monet had become less interested in working directly from nature; he continued to refine the Étretat paintings in his studio at Giverny and gave more weight to his subjective response.

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