Stack of Wheat (Thaw, Sunset)

Stack of Wheat (Thaw, Sunset) is among the most atmospheric of the Grainstacks series, painted in winter conditions as snow melts and the low winter sun creates an unusually warm golden light. The combination of thaw and sunset gives the canvas two simultaneous transitional phenomena — the change of season and the change of day — multiplying the evanescent quality that was Monet's fundamental subject. The low winter sun angles across the stack from the side, creating long shadows on the snow and catching the straw of the stack in warm copper light.

The sunset light is rendered in a warm range of orange, copper, and pink that suffuses the entire canvas, including the snow shadows which carry warm reflections from the sky. The stack's form is established more by its warm-lit face than by any structural drawing. The overall tonal key is unusually warm for a winter canvas.