À propos de l’œuvre
Carrières-Saint-Denis, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · Carrières-sur-Seine in 1872 · Musée d'Orsay
Carrières-Saint-Denis W237hand painted reproduction
From the Seine, Monet looks at the village of Carrières-Saint-Denis, today Carrières-sur-Seine. Clear houses rise on the hillside, poplars punctuate the bank and a wash boat occupies the water. The table combines precision of the site and vibration of reflections.
Look at the work
Village rises above the Seine
The water fills almost half of the canvas. A dark wash boat lies down in the center, in front of a light bank animated by small figures. On the left, very tall poplars rise into the sky and extend into softer reflections in the foreground.
The village develops into tiers on the hillside. Facades, roofs and gables are indicated by grays, pinks, ochres and whites close together. A few green trees separate the buildings and prevent this urban mass from becoming uniform.
The view holds two ladders together: the large, calm expanse of the Seine and the tight multitude of houses on the slope.
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 big strip of water
The very open foreground creates the distance from the village. The vertical reflections of the poplars and the horizontal touches of the Seine intersect there.
Poplars as landmarks
Their disproportionate height first draws the eye to the left bank, then leads back to the lower houses and church.
A village built by values
Monet distinguishes buildings less by their contours than by the alternation of light facades, pink roofs and blue-gray shadows.
Reference image
Read this specific version
High definition photography shows the W237 canvas without its frame. It allows you to observe the figures of the shore, the central wash boat, the reflections of the poplars and the small differences in value between the houses.
A balance between horizontal and vertical
Shore, water and village form large strips, crossed by poplars, their reflections and some rising walls.
Blues present everywhere
Sky and water dominate, but bluish grays also appear in the shadows of facades and roofs.
Details concentrated halfway up
Houses, figures and boats occupy the central strip; sky and foreground remain more widely treated.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
The Musée d'Orsay notice identifies this view from 1872 under the inventory RF 1674 and the reference Wildenstein 237.
Careers-saint-denis
The name designates the current commune of Carrières-sur-Seine. Monet observes the village from the river or from the Fleurie Island facing it.
Durand-Ruel then Étienne Moreau-Nélaton
After a New York sale in 1895, Durand-Ruel acquired the painting and sold it in 1900 to collector Étienne Moreau-Nélaton.
Moreau-Nélaton donation, 1906
The work entered the national collections with the donation of 1906; this oil on canvas measures 61 × 81 cm.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- Preserve the large proportion of water that separates the viewer from the village.
- Precisely place the wash boat and small figures along the bank.
- Differentiate houses by values and temperatures without tracing each facade.
- Extend the poplars in reflections more supple and more fragmented than their real shapes.
Work sheet
| Title | Carrières-Saint-Denis W237 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1872 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 61 × 81 cm |
| Orientation | Horizontal |
| Conservation | Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France |
| Inventory | RF 1674 · Wildenstein 237 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
The blue of the Seine, the bright grays of the village and the deep greens give an impression of calm space. This view is suitable for a living room, dining room or office; an oak, bluish gray or matte gold frame naturally accompanies its palette.
