À propos de l’œuvre
Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · Central fragment of the monumental project of 1865 -1866 · Musée d'Orsay
Lunch on the Grass, central fragment W63/2hand painted reproduction
Around a white tablecloth covered with fruit, dishes and baskets, four figures appear in a clearing. The light dress of the seated woman captures an almost blinding light, while the standing men and women stand out in the deep greens. This central fragment is one of only two preserved remains of Monet's monumental Luncheon on the Grass.
Look at the work
The tablecloth and the white dress concentrate the light from the entire clearing
In the foreground, the tablecloth extends diagonally and bears an abundant still life: fruit, bread, bottle, dishes, basket and fabrics. The seated woman opens her arms and turns her face towards the viewer. Behind her, a standing man holds a garment or blanket, while a woman in a light dress leans towards the group.
On the left, the bearded figure remains partially caught in the shadows. The Musée d'Orsay notes its striking resemblance to Gustave Courbet, who came to see Monet and Bazille during the winter of 1865 -1866. The vertical birches and low branches give a natural architecture to this open-air social gathering.
This fragment should not be read as a randomly cropped painting: it preserves the luminous core of a composition which originally measured more than four by six meters.
Composition, touch and light
What Monet builds behind the impression of snapshot
Three precise elements allow us to understand this composition and the essential difficulties of faithful reproduction.
A center dominated by colored whites
The dress, tablecloth and sleeves are never uniform white. They receive blue, pink, ocher and the green shadows of the clearing; these gaps give the light its power without erasing the volumes.
Figures taken from the landscape
Dark clothing, foliage and trunks respond to each other with color. Monet avoids the effect of silhouettes placed in front of a setting: the characters belong to the same fragmented light as the trees.
The diagonal of the meal against the verticals
The tablecloth and gestures open the space to the right, while the birches rise almost parallel. This opposition stabilizes a scene that is nevertheless dense and explains its effectiveness on a monumental scale.
Reference image
Read this specific version
The image shows the central part kept at the Musée d'Orsay, inventory RF 1987 12 and catalog Wildenstein 63/2. The WebP file of 2,247 × 2,590 px respects the current shape of the fragment and allows figures such as the still life.
The seated woman is the home, not an isolated figure
Its sleeves, dress and tablecloth fit into a wide light area. Their internal limits must be preserved by small cold and warm variations without creating a dark outline.
The bearded character remains in a transparent shadow
His face, his coat and his beard combine brown, green and colored black. An opaque black mass would make his posture disappear and break the gradual passage towards the undergrowth.
Still life organizes the foreground
The fruits, baskets and containers are precise but subordinate to the whole. Their ocher, red and brown touches must punctuate the tablecloth without becoming a succession of meticulously surrounded objects.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
This central fragment painted in 1865 -1866 measures 248.7 × 218 cm and weighs 97 kg. It is kept at the Musée d'Orsay under the inventory RF 1987 12 and cataloged Wildenstein 63/2.
More than four by six meters originally
Monet began this immense composition in the spring of 1865 as a tribute as well as a challenge to Manet's Déjeuner sur l'herbe, shown at the Salon des Refusés of 1863. He wanted to present it at the Salon of 1866.
A canvas rolled up, damaged then cut out
Pawned for rent, the canvas is kept rolled up in a cellar and suffers from humidity. Monet recovered it in 1884, cut it out and kept three fragments; only two are known today.
The central fragment received by donation in 1987
After remaining with Monet and then in the collection of his son Michel, this fragment entered the national collections by donation in 1987. An additional strip had already been removed on the right after 1920.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- Maintain the vertical shape and framing specific to the central fragment.
- Color all the whites of the dress and the tablecloth.
- Maintain readable dark figures in the undergrowth.
- Paint still life in accents without hardening each object.
Work sheet
| Title | Lunch on the Grass, central fragment W63/2 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1865 - 1866 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 248.7 × 218 cm |
| Orientation | Monumental vertical |
| Conservation | Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France |
| Inventory | RF 1987 12 · Wildenstein 63/2 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
This spectacular fragment is suitable for a high-ceilinged living room, entrance or library. A walnut, bronze or deep green frame highlights the undergrowth; an ivory, light stone or gray green wall reveals the large white areas.
