Monet, Claude (1840-1926), French Small Country Farm at Bordighera (Un coin de ferme à Bordighera), 1884, oil on canvas, 29 1/8 x 36 3/8 in.; 73.9775 x 92.3925 cm. Museum Purchase

In 1884, Monet spent two months in Bordighera, a coastal village near the French-Italian border. There he felt the challenge of a new intensity of light and color and of overabundant nature - how to translate them into paint and patterns of brushstrokeà Letters reveal Monet's battles and frustrations, but his sojourn yielded forty paintings. Joslyn's composition is the masterpiece of the group. Its exceptionally varied brushwork captures the explosive vigor of tropical nature and conveys the sparkle of the Mediterranean sun. Aware of its merit, Monet offered the canvas to his dealer at a considerably higher price than the rest.