Mount Kolsaam in Norway,1895 by Claude Monet

In 1895, Monet decided to take a trip to Norway. His purpose was twofold: he wished to visit his now stepson, Jacques Hoschede, who lived there; and he was looking for inspiring new subject matter.

On arriving, Monet struggled to paint the snowy scenes in the strange Scandinavian light. His problems were solved by discovering Mount Kolsaas. Eventually, he painted 13 canvases on this subject, marking the different light effects at various times of the day. Unlike the previous series of paintings, these were all painted from the same viewpoint. Despite this, the paintings are not identical in composition. This can be attributed to Monet's desire to capture the impression of the moment rather than the detail. Mount Kolsaam in Norway uses more vertical brushstrokes, which create a blurred effect, whereas the smaller format image is more sharply defined.