Like the seasons, the times of day have deep importance in human life. Most obviously, sunrise and sunset mark the beginning and end of the working day. Happily for artists they are also often dramatic and colourful, and are therefore common subjects within landscape and marine painting. Midday, with its short shadows, is less obviously attractive and night-time presents its own challenges.
Some artists created sets of paintings depicting the four times of day: morning, noon, evening, and night, to show off their mastery of lighting effects and illustrating varied aspects of human life and society. These were especially popular in the eighteenth century. Monet made several famous series of views that illustrate the Impressionists’ interest in changing light.
