Monet painted his "Magpie" in the open air, which translates as "in the open air", outside, in natural light. He wrote what he saw: snow playing in the sun with all colors and blue shadows. The blue color of his shadows on the snow has caused a lot of controversies. Thanks to this blue color, there is a sharp reality in this image. But in the 1860s, all shadows in artwork were black. In fact, the Paris Salon believed that this was a kind of rule. They rejected this realistic winter landscape. The eminent Salon gave only one reason - the shadows "should" be black. Monet's are pale blue. It was for them. Fortunately for us, Monet knew better than to hide the Magpie because of this unreasonable refusal.  Contact for a commission of a hand-made reproduction within 3-4 weeks. Friendly service, personalization, framing, etc.