À propos de l’œuvre
Le bassin d'Argenteuil, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · Moored boats and modern leisure activities on the Seine · Private collection
The Argenteuil Basin W326hand painted reproduction
From Petit-Gennevilliers, Monet looks at the Argenteuil basin and its boat rental area. Moored sailboats, brightly colored boats and a couple advancing on a pontoon occupy the foreground. The other bank stretches under a milky blue sky, while touches of orange, turquoise, green and white multiply in the water.
Look at the work
Masts, hulls and pontoon make up a seemingly instantaneous scene, yet rigorously balanced
A large dark hull and its golden mast occupy the left. On the right, several boats overlap around the pontoon; the two figures, wearing hats, are captured in motion. At the lower edge, the green, orange and blue boats create an extremely close foreground.
Two white sails stand out in the middle of the river and lead towards the tree-filled promenade. Light buildings punctuate the opposite bank. The horizontals of the sky, trees and water are continually intersected by masts, ropes and reflections.
Monet transforms an ordinary pier into an image of modernity: leisure, the speed of the gaze and moving light become a single subject.
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 view taken from the bank of Petit-Gennevilliers
The painting looks towards Argenteuil from the quieter side of the river. The basin, the anchorages and the promenade illustrate the growth of nautical leisure activities made possible by the proximity of the Parisian railway.
A composition in strips crossed by verticals
The river, the bank and the sky form large horizontal zones. The masts, deliberately cut by the frame, animate them and connect all the planes, from the pontoon to the top of the sky.
A broken touch adapted to the movement of water
Monet juxtaposes fragments of poorly mixed pigments: blues, whites, oranges and greens remain readable. The reflections do not mechanically reproduce the boats; they make the vibrations of the pool.
Reference image
Read this specific version
The visual corresponds to the Argenteuil Wildenstein Basin 326, sold by Christie's in 2021. The image of 2,200 × 1,625 px has been preserved in its native definition and encoded in real WebP.
The boats in the foreground have distinct colors
Emerald green, orange, blue and brown respond to each other without completely mixing. Their outline remains flexible so that they belong to the same light.
The reflections extend the masts in fragments
Verticals break on contact with small waves. Too continuous lines would make the water rigid and eliminate the feeling of movement.
The distance remains more dull than the boats
Trees and houses use folded tones, while the whites of the sails and the colors of the hulls are more frank. This difference maintains depth despite the general clarity.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
Painted in 1874, this oil on canvas measures 54 × 73.2 cm. It belongs to a private collection and is listed as Wildenstein 326.
The year of the first impressionist exhibition
Monet painted this canvas in 1874, a few weeks or months after the exhibition organized in Nadar's former studio. Argenteuil then became one of the most fruitful laboratories for new painting.
The rental pool and boaters
The scene shows neither large yachts nor navigation professionals, but boats accessible to visitors from Paris. This modern practice of leisure constitutes an essential part of the subject.
François Depeaux then Paul Durand-Ruel
The first known owner is the Rouen industrialist and collector François Depeaux. Paul Durand-Ruel then acquired the work in 1898; it remained in the gallery network for several decades.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- Keep the framing very close to the boats.
- Respect the balance between horizontal strips and vertical masts.
- Preserve orange and turquoise touches in water.
- Keep the torque at the correct scale on the pontoon.
Work sheet
| Title | The Argenteuil Basin W326 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1874 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 54 × 73.2 cm |
| Orientation | Horizontal |
| Conservation | Private collection, Work sold in New York in 2021 |
| Inventory | Wildenstein 326 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
This light scene is suitable for a living room, dining room or office. A gray blue, walnut or matte gold frame accompanies boats; a cream or pearl gray wall brings out the sky and the water.
