Here, along a promenade near the river at Argenteuil, Monet and his friends enjoy a carefree, undisturbed afternoon (look carefully at the lower right side of the canvas at what appear to be ladies picnicking in the grove of trees).

Though entitled "Promenade" one suspects that it was, in fact, a commercial road linking the towns along the river. It was this imaginative act, viewing the countryside as a place for solace and leisure, that led in many ways to a shift in the way that European city dwellers regarded the countryside. A similar view was held by the Romans for their villas far from the hustle of Rome.
Claude Monet, Promenade Argenteuil, 1872. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
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