The Magpie
The artist
Claude Monet, a French painter and one of the founders of the Impressionist movement.
What you see
A snowy winter scene with a single black-and-white magpie bird perched on a gate.
The story
Monet painted it around 1868 and it became one of his best-loved snow scenes, quiet and peaceful.
The style
He showed that snow is not just white by using soft blues and yellows to paint the shadows.
Look closer
The little magpie is the only spot of dark color, so your eyes go straight to it.
Where to see it
You can see The Magpie at the Musee d'Orsay in Paris.
Fun fact
When it was new, an art jury rejected it because painting shadows in color seemed too strange back then.