These poplars grew on the banks of the River Ept near the house of Monet in Giverny, and in the summer of 1891 the artist began to paint them at different times of the day, sitting in his famous boat. When Monet found out that these poplars were going to be cut down, he immediately bought a piece of land on which they grew, and continued his work throughout the autumn of 1891.
As a result, he got 20 paintings that captured these poplars at different times of the year and with different lighting. Painted in delicate colors, the picture shows a poplar, illuminated by the summer afternoon sun. The canvas, sustained in darker colors, shows the same landscape in the dim rays of the sunset. In the sunlit picture, the vertical trunks of the poplars and curly clouds are reflected in the calm mirror of the water.