À propos de l’œuvre
Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · Left fragment of the major project of 1865 -1866 · Musée d'Orsay
Lunch on the Grass, Left Fragment W63ahand painted reproduction
A man in a black suit and two women in light dresses walk or stop under the trees. The coral red of the ribbons and train bursts among the deep greens, while a luminous branch crosses the top of the fragment. This vertical strip of more than four meters is one of only two vestiges of the monumental Luncheon on the Grass.
Look at the work
Three walkers in modern attire emerge from contrasting undergrowth
The man, traditionally close to Frédéric Bazille, stands on the left in a dark suit and a light hat. He turns his face towards the two women. The central dress combines gray green, white and bright red; the figure on the right is seen from behind in a beige dress with long vertical lines.
The ground descends in green and brown spots towards the bottom of the fragment. Behind the figures, the undergrowth becomes almost black, but a branch covered with yellow-green leaves opens a large luminous diagonal above the hats. Contrasts give clothes a sculptural presence.
The narrow shape of the fragment today accentuates the verticality of the figures, but their gestures and looks belonged to a composition more than six meters wide.
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 relational triangle between three figures
The man's face and gesture move towards the two women, while their shoulders and dresses direct the stage towards the missing part. The group thus remains open rather than closed in on itself.
Red as a visual connection
Ribbons, belt, train and small accents distribute a warm color from one figure to another. This red maintains the cohesion of the group against the cold and dark mass of the foliage.
Strong light, deep shadow
The lit areas of the dresses are almost chalky, but they receive green and blue from the undergrowth. The blacks of the costume are also colorful; this modulation prevents any flat contrast.
Reference image
Read this specific version
The image corresponds to the left part kept at the Musée d'Orsay, inventory RF 1957 7 and Wildenstein number 63a. The WebP file of 894 × 2 596 px respects the very vertical silhouette of the fragment and its native definition.
The black suit must remain modeled
Blues, greens and browns distinguish jacket, pants and shade. Uniform black would make the movement of the arm and the man's relationship with the two women disappear.
The reds are lively but limited
They appear in precise bands and accents in the middle of larger, more neutral surfaces. Extending them or saturating them everywhere would destroy their punctuation role.
The dresses have very different volumes
The central figure features an open silhouette and a red train, while the dress seen from behind falls in long pinkish-beige curves. Their distinction structures the whole group.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
This left fragment painted in 1865 -1866 measures 418 × 150 cm. It is kept at the Musée d'Orsay under the inventory RF 1957 7 and cataloged Wildenstein 63a.
A painting measuring more than four by six meters
Monet designed the Déjeuner sur l'herbe for the Salon of 1866, as an ambitious response to Manet's painting of 1863. The whole was to bring together contemporary characters of almost natural size in a clearing.
Damaged by humidity then cut in 1884
The canvas is pawned to an owner, rolled up and kept in a cellar. Monet recovers it damaged, cuts it up and keeps only three fragments; only two have survived to this day.
Georges Wildenstein offered this fragment in 1957
Passed by Michel Monet then Georges Wildenstein, this left part was given to the National Museums in 1957 for the Jeu de Paume. It was assigned to the Musée d'Orsay in 1986.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- Respect the narrow format and exceptional height of the fragment.
- Model the dark suit with colored blacks.
- Place red accents exactly on clothes.
- Keep the large branch clear above the group.
Work sheet
| Title | Lunch on the Grass, Left Fragment W63a |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1865 - 1866 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 418 × 150 cm |
| Orientation | Very elongated vertical |
| Conservation | Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France |
| Inventory | RF 1957 7 · Wildenstein 63a |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
This vertical fragment is suitable for an entrance, a narrow section of wall or a high ceiling room. A walnut, deep green or bronze frame highlights the undergrowth; an ivory, stone or gray green wall reveals the reds.
