À propos de l’œuvre
Le Bassin aux nymphéas, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · Giverny, 1899 · Metropolitan Museum of Art · W1518
The Bridge over the Water Lilies Basin, Met W1518hand painted reproduction
In this unusual vertical format, the walkway crosses the upper third and leaves almost two thirds of the canvas to the pool. White, yellow and pink water lilies follow one another to the lower edge among green and red reflections. Monet does not only describe a bridge: he measures the depth of the water by the repetition, scale and color of the flowers.
Look at the work
The vertical format brings the gaze down from the bridge to the flowers in the foreground
The upper half is held by two large curves: the light railing then the blue green apron. Their lines stand out against a plant background where the willows on the left respond to the warmer masses on the right. Under the arch, a brown and turquoise shadow creates a visual threshold before the extent of the pool.
The flowers are distributed in discontinuous rows. Near the bridge, they are small and almost melted in the grass; in the center they become more numerous; at the bottom, a few thicker whites and yellows advance clearly. The red and green reflections placed between these bands prevent the water from appearing uniform.
The real subject of this vertical version is the distance between the bridge and the edge of the pool, made visible by a succession of water lilies growing towards us.
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 compressed architecture in the upper third
The bridge should not go too low in the reproduction. The large body of water below is precisely what distinguishes this vertical version from other paintings from 1899.
Thick flowers on thinner reflections
The nearest water lilies are laid with material whites and yellows. Around, the reflections remain flatter and fragmented, which accentuates the presence of flowers.
A shadow of the bridge still visible in the water
A darker strip under the arch recalls the mass of the walkway. It passes through reflections without becoming a geometric contour, because foliage and water continually fragment it.
Details and visual documents
Observe the material and the exact version
The additional images show the difficult-to-read passages in the full view and, where it exists, the actual appearance of the work at the museum.
The main scan measures 2,966 × 3,722 px. An actual photograph of the canvas at the Metropolitan Museum measures 2,500 × 3,123 px; the detail of 1,700 × 1,700 px is a native crop. No files have been artificially enlarged and all three media are true decodable WebPs.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
These facts concern this precise version and are verified from the notice of the institution which keeps it.
Met 29.100.113, Wildenstein 1518
This oil on canvas from 1899 measures 92.7 × 73.7 cm. The Metropolitan Museum registers it under number 29.100.113; it corresponds to number 1518 of the Wildenstein catalog raisonné.
The vertical version of the first series
The Met highlights the unusual nature of this orientation among the views of the bridge. It gives a dominant place to the water lilies, reflections and shade of the footbridge rather than just the plant decoration.
A legacy entered the museum in 1929
The work belongs to the HO Havemeyer collection and entered the Metropolitan Museum with the bequest of Louisine W. Havemeyer in 1929, under the number it still bears today.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- The exact vertical version of the Met, 29.100.113 and W1518
- The original ratio of 92.7 × 73.7 cm
- The bridge held in the upper third of the composition
- The growth of water lilies and their clear impasto preserved towards the foreground
Work sheet
| Title | The Bridge over the Water Lilies Basin, Met W1518 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1899 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 92.7 × 73.7 cm |
| Orientation | Vertical |
| Conservation | Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States |
| Inventory | 29.100.113 · Wildenstein 1518 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
Sage green, shell pink, cream yellow, blue gray and red brown create a complex but peaceful palette. This vertical reproduction adorns a narrow wall or a space between two pieces of furniture, accompanied by natural wood and side light.
