Art history investigation · attribution, portraits and photographs
Self-portraits by Claude Monet: which ones are really authentic?
The painter of light has rarely turned his gaze towards himself. Two painted images remain with a sure attribution; many others show Monet without being of his hand.
This guide separates four categories often confused: self-portrait, portrait by another artist, photography and caricature. He explains what we know about the 1886 beret, the three essays from 1917 and the painting saved by Georges Clemenceau.
The short answer
Two self-portraits painted by Monet are now clearly identifiable and visible
The first is theSelf-portrait wearing beret, painted in 1886 and kept in private collection. The second is the Portrait of the artist from 1917, today in the collections of the Musée d'Orsay. This last painting belongs to a campaign of three late self-portraits: Monet would have destroyed two essays and preserved the one that Georges Clemenceau convinced him to spare.
It is therefore necessary to distinguish the number of self-portraits undertaken from the number of works preserved. Simply saying "Monet painted three self-portraits" mixes several realities: the beret of 1886, the three essays of 1917, the destruction of two of them and the survival of a single late version. Catalogs, museum notices and exhibition documents make it possible to reconstruct this file with more precision.
Alongside these works, many authentic images depict Monet without being self-portraits. Renoir painted him at work in 1875 and also showed him reading or painting in his garden. Nadar photographed him in 1899. These images are essential to recognize the painter, but the author is not Monet: they belong to the history of his portrait, not that of his self-portrait.
Four categories not to be confused
Identifying an image of Monet begins with two questions: who is depicted, and who created the work?
Self-portrait
Claude Monet is both the model and the author. The 1886 beret and the 1917 portrait fall into this category.
Portrait by a painter
Monet is the model, but Renoir, Manet, Blanche or another artist holds the brush. The attribution must mention this author.
Photograph
The face can be accurately documented, but the medium, date, photographer, and context differ from a painting.
Caricature
Monet's early drawings mainly represent notables from Le Havre. They prove his talent as a portrait painter, not that he took himself as a model.
| Picture | Model | Author | Date | Exact status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-portrait with beret | Claude Monet | Claude Monet | 1886 | Self-portrait preserved, private collection |
| Portrait of the artist | Claude Monet | Claude Monet | 1917 | Self-portrait preserved, Musée d'Orsay |
| Claude Monet with palette | Claude Monet | Auguste Renoir | 1875 | Portrait by another painter |
| Claude Monet by Nadar | Claude Monet | Nadar | 1899 | Photographic portrait |
| Caricatures of Le Havre | Notables and residents | Claude Monet | around 1855 -1859 | Drawn portraits, not self-portraits |
First safe marker · 1886
The Self-portrait with the beret: Monet represents himself without landscape and without spectacular attributes
A rare image in a career focused on the outside world
Dated 1886 and listed in the Wildenstein catalog raisonné under number W 1078, the self-portrait with the beret belongs to a private collection. Its identification is therefore based less on a permanent presence in a museum than on its documentation, its exhibition history and its inscription in Monet's corpus.
The framing is tight. No easel, no palette, no garden explains the model's profession. Monet favors the face, the frontal gaze, the mass of the beard and the dark headgear. The material does not have the luminous dispersion of landscapes of the same period: it constructs a compact, restrained, almost severe presence.
In 1886, Monet worked in Giverny and traveled to Belle-Île. The contrast between this interior self-portrait and his outdoor research makes the painting particularly revealing. He does not create an official image of a recognized master; he observes a face as he would observe a motif, with rapid passages, dark values and some bright areas.
For reproduction, the main challenge is halftones. A beard that is too white artificially ages the model; a background that is too black removes the contours of the garment; a complexion that is too warm transforms sobriety into theatricality. The painting requires nuanced painting, especially around the eyes and forehead.
See this reproductionSecond safe marker · 1917
The Orsay Museum Artist's Portrait: The Survivor of a Series of Three Essays
A late painting, contemporary with the Great Decoration
The notice from the Musée d'Orsay dates from Portrait of the artist from 1917. The work measures 70.5 × 55 cm and entered the national collections with a donation from Georges Clemenceau in 1927. It was produced in Giverny while Monet devoted a large part of his energy to the immense panels of the Water Lilies.
Sources devoted to this period mention three self-portraits undertaken in 1917. Monet, dissatisfied, destroyed two. The preserved painting is therefore not "one of three visible paintings": he is the only known survivor of this late campaign. This detail changes the reading of the work, because its colorful brutality does not correspond to a series carefully intended for the public, but to an almost abandoned personal research.
The face is more frontal, more fragmented and more intense than in the beret portrait. The red, orange, blue and green touches not only describe the complexion; they restore fatigue, age and the vibration of light. The painter shows himself neither in front of his gardens nor in front of his monumental decorations. The painter shows himself neither in front of his gardens nor in front of his monumental decorations. The painter shows himself neither in front of his gardens nor in front of his monumental decorations: he isolates the head and accepts a struck surface.
A faithful copy must retain this energy without hardening the lines. The colors are bold, but they respond to each other. If each touch becomes independent, the face disintegrates; if everything is smoothed, the painting loses its late strength.
See this reproductionA decisive role
Why the name Georges Clemenceau belongs to the history of this self-portrait
Georges Clemenceau is not a simple late owner. A close friend of Monet, he accompanied the painter in the last years of his life and played a major role in the Water Lilies project offered to the State. Documents devoted to the 1917 portrait report that he convinced Monet to spare the third version after the destruction of the other two.
The work remained in Clemenceau's collection until his donation in 1927. Its provenance is therefore short and readable: from the artist to his friend, then from the friend to the national collections. This chain reinforces identification, not because a famous provenance would be enough to authenticate a painting, but because it fits with the archives, date, catalog and known history of their relationship.
Context is also important. Monet has worked since 1914 on the Great Decoration of Water Lilies. After the armistice, he proposed through Clemenceau to offer panels to the State. The self-portrait belongs to this same moment of extreme concentration: an elderly artist, absorbed by a monumental project, briefly confronts his own face.
Portrait, but not self-portrait
Le Claude Monet de Renoir in 1875: the painter friend interrupted in his work
Confusion often comes from the short title
A listing, catalog or search engine can display simply Claude Monet. This title designates the model, not necessarily the author. The notice from the Musée d'Orsay unambiguously attributes the painting to Auguste Renoir, dates it from 1875 and describes it as an oil on canvas measuring 84 × 60.5 cm.
Renoir shows his friend with his palette and brushes, in work clothes, in a relaxed posture. Monet stands out against the light in front of a window; the light focuses on the face. A oleander seems to crown it with humor, and the little hat almost evokes a halo. The portrait is intimate, mobile, far from an official effigy.
This is a crucial document on Monet in the mid-1870s, but its interest does not change its category. To name it correctly, write "Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet, 1875", never "Monet’s self-portrait". The author-title order avoids the majority of errors.
See this reproductionThe face seen by those close to him
Renoir does not paint a single Monet: he shows the painter, the reader and the friend
An identity constructed by several perspectives
Friendship portraits give what the self-portrait often refuses: a situation, a spontaneous posture, an environment. Renoir represents Monet sitting, reading or painting. These works provide information on the daily life of the impressionist group and the way in which the artists saw each other.
However, they require the same rigor of labeling. "Claude Monet painting in his garden in Argenteuil" describes the subject; "Pierre-Auguste Renoir" indicates the author. The model can be a painter without the painting being in his hand. The narrative title even makes confusion easier, because Monet's name appears in the foreground.
Other contemporaries, designers and photographers also fixed his face. Each image has its own date, its own medium and its own degree of interpretation. Rather than looking for "the true face" in a single work, we must compare the sources.
The photographic document
Nadar in 1899: a photograph can confirm features without becoming a painting by Monet
Another image nature
Nadar's photograph in 1899 is one of the mature painter's most widely distributed portraits. It shows the beard, the look and the physiognomy with a precision different from that of a painting.
Comparing this photograph to the 1886 beret or the 1917 portrait helps recognize the continuity of certain features, but does not in itself constitute proof of pictorial attribution. A painter can change proportions, simplify a beard, accentuate a shadow or translate an emotion into color. A documented photo; an interpretive self-portrait.
You must also identify the photographer. "Claude Monet, 1899" may be a handy title in a stock image bank, but the full caption should mention Nadar. The same principle applies to autochromes and late films: Monet is in front of the lens, not behind the camera.
Photographs are particularly useful for dating an appearance. The Monet of 1899 is neither the age of the 1886 model nor that of 1917. A so-called "around 1870" canvas showing the old man's long white beard should immediately raise questions. The appearance must be consistent with the announced date.
Before Impressionism
Youthful caricatures prove that Monet knew how to observe faces - not that he drew himself
Oscar Monet, cartoonist in Le Havre
As a teenager, Monet gained his first successes with caricatures of local notables. He sometimes signed them "O. Monet" or "Oscar Monet", a first name used in his youth.
These large charcoal leaves already show an acute observation of silhouette, gesture and physical particularities. The heads can be realistic while the bodies are amplified or reduced. Recent research on his beginnings in Le Havre reminds us that the sale of these drawings gave him initial recognition and income before his conversion to the open-air landscape under the influence of Eugène Boudin.
A caricature signed Monet is not automatically a self-portrait. The model must be identified. Collection notices often give a specific name, such as Léon Manchon, or a description linked to a local character. When identity remains uncertain, it is more honest to write "man caricature" than to invent a self-portrait.
This period, however, explains why the rare late self-portraits are not the clumsy attempts of a landscaper incapable of painting a face. Monet mastered the portrait drawn as a teenager. Its rarity is due to its artistic choices, not to a lack of competence.
Verification method
How to test an attribution before sharing, purchasing, or reproducing the image
Read the entire legend
A title can name the model. Look separately for the line "artist" or "author".
Consult a museum
An official notice provides technical, dimensions, provenance, inventory number and bibliography.
Check the catalog
For Monet, the Wildenstein issue links the work to a reasoned corpus and its documentary history.
Compare the date to the face
Age, beard, hairstyle and clothing should be consistent with the artist's known timeline.
Distinguish image and object
A digital reproduction may be accurate without providing the medium, scale or condition of the original.
Refuse easy certainty
"Attributed to", "workshop", "copy after" and "private collection" do not mean the same thing.
The resemblance perhaps identifies the model. It never identifies, on its own, the hand that painted.
Fundamental principle of reading a portraitSix directly related reproductions
Compare Monet by himself and Monet seen by Renoir
Self-portrait with beret
The rare middle-aged face, tight in a dark palette and direct framing.
See the work →Portrait of the artist
The only survivor of the three late essays, today at the Musée d'Orsay.
See the work →Claude Monet with palette
The friendship portrait kept at the Musée d'Orsay, often confused with a self-portrait.
See the work →Claude Monet
Another look from Renoir at his friend, associated with the National Gallery of Art.
See the work →Claude Monet reading
The painter becomes a reader, far from the official image of the artist in front of his easel.
See the work →Monet painting in Argenteuil
An image of the painter in his environment, created by the friendly eye of Renoir.
See the work →Reliable collections and sources
Browse the store and check identifications in public collections
Claude Monet
Self-portraits, landscapes, series, gardens, ports, cliffs and Water Lilies.
Portraitist and friendPierre-Auguste Renoir
Find portraits of Monet and scenes from the impressionist circle.
MovementImpressionist
Compare the views of Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Sisley and their contemporaries.
MuseumMusée d'Orsay
Explore works associated with national collections of the 19th century.
SelectionFamous paintings
Browse masterpieces by artist, era, subject and museum.
DecorationPaints for living room
Choose a portrait or landscape according to the format and the room.
Portrait of the artist, 1917
Date, dimensions, Clemenceau origin and inventory number.
Musée d'OrsayClaude Monet by Renoir
Analysis of the 1875 portrait, palette, brushes and friendly context.
National Gallery of ArtClaude Monet by Renoir
Notice of another portrait of Monet painted by his friend Renoir.
MoMAChronology of Monet
Catalog documenting in particular the three self-portraits undertaken in 1917.
Giverny Museum of ImpressionismMonet before the Water Lilies
Context of Giverny and presentation of the self-portrait in the 1886 beret.
National Library of FranceThe Nadars
Photographic context and portrait as a historical document.
Orangery MuseumWater Lilies Cycle
Great Decoration, late chronology and role of Clemenceau.
Metropolitan Museum of ArtHistory of caricature
Publication including youth caricatures by Claude Monet.
Ten specific answers
Frequently asked questions about Claude Monet's self-portraits
How many self-portraits of Claude Monet are preserved?
Two painted self-portraits are clearly identifiable today: the 1886 beret in private collection and the Portrait of the artist from 1917 at the Musée d'Orsay.
Did Monet paint three self-portraits in 1917?
Yes, the chronologies and sources devoted to his late period mention three attempts. He destroys two; only one version of this campaign is preserved.
What is Monet's self-portrait at the Musée d'Orsay?
The Portrait of the artist, oil on canvas from 1917 measuring 70.5 × 55 cm, given by Georges Clemenceau in 1927.
Where is the Self-Portrait with the 1886 Beret?
It is documented in private collections and listed in Monet's catalog raisonné under the number Wildenstein 1078.
Is Monet's portrait with a palette a self-portrait?
No. Monet is the model, but Auguste Renoir is the author. The 1875 painting is kept in the collections of the Musée d'Orsay.
Why did Monet paint so few self-portraits?
His career is mainly devoted to landscape, lighting effects and series work. Rarity does not mean that he was ignorant of portraiture: his youthful caricatures show the opposite.
Is a photograph of Nadar a self-portrait?
No. It's a photographic portrait of Monet taken by Nadar. The model is Monet, but the author of the image is the photographer.
Are youth caricatures self-portraits?
Generally no. Monet mainly caricatures notables and inhabitants of Le Havre. The identity of the model must be verified in each notice.
How to recognize bad attribution online?
A legend which confuses title and author, omits the date or does not refer to any collection must be checked. Consult a museum notice and a catalog raisonné.
Which reproduction to choose between 1886 and 1917?
The 1886 beret offers a dark and classic presence; the 1917 portrait is more colorful, fragmented and expressive. The choice depends on the desired atmosphere.
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