À propos de l’œuvre
La Cathédrale de Rouen, le Portail, Soleil matinal ; Harmonie bleue, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · 1893 · Musée d'Orsay RF 2000 · W1355
Rouen Cathedral, morning sun W1355hand painted reproduction
The morning sun touches a facade still caught in blue grays. The three portals remain dark, while the upper reliefs gain cream, ocher and pink tones. Monet here focuses his gaze on the western portal and builds a blue harmony where the light seems to gradually descend onto the stone.
Look at the work
Portal awakens in blue morning harmony
The framing cuts the sides of the facade and places the large central bay in the axis. The portals form a dense purple-brown base. Above, the gables and pinnacles emerge in lighter touches, without their contours becoming fixed.
Light is not evenly distributed. It catches certain projections in pale yellow and leaves other areas in a transparent gray blue. This irregularity gives the monument a moving presence, as if the morning was progressing during the execution.
W1355 shows less a building than a passage: that of the blue shadow towards a still fragile light.
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.
The Blue Harmony of the Musée d'Orsay
The museum keeps the painting under the title Le Portail, morning sun and the other title Blue Harmony. It measures 92.2 × 63 cm and bears the RF 2000 inventory.
An execution from 1893, a date from 1894
The notice places the painting in 1893 and notes the signature "Claude Monet 94" at the bottom right. Monet takes up his Cathedrals before selecting those intended for the exhibition.
The Isaac de Camondo collection
Camondo acquired the painting from the artist in September 1894. His legacy from 1911 included it in the national collections; he joined the Musée d'Orsay in 1986.
Reference image
Read this specific version
Only one image is used: the complete view of W1355, preserved as a real WebP of 1,488 × 2,200 px, without artificial enlargement.
A centered and tight facade
The central portal serves as an axis, but the cut edges prevent complete architectural reading. The reproduction must maintain this almost tactile proximity.
Blue gray, ocher, cream and pink
Cold tones unify the facade. Yellows and pinks appear in small touches on the reliefs, without transforming the morning into full sun.
Crossed keys that replace detail
Arcatures and sculptures are born from the density of matter. At short distances, the marks remain autonomous; with hindsight, they reconstruct the Gothic structure.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
The Musée d'Orsay keeps this version under the RF 2000 inventory; the Wildenstein catalog identifies it under number 1355.
Morning sun, Wildenstein 1355
This oil on canvas from 1893 measures 92.2 × 63 cm. It is signed and dated 94 at the bottom right and also bears the title Blue Harmony.
Musée d'Orsay, RF 2000
Acquired by Isaac de Camondo in 1894, it entered the national collections with its legacy of 1911, then was assigned to the Musée d'Orsay in 1986.
Durand-Ruel, May 1895, number 11
The painting is part of the selection of Cathedrals exhibited at Durand-Ruel. The public could compare this morning light to the effects of fog, gray and full sun.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- The exact version from the Musée d'Orsay, RF 2000 and Wildenstein 1355
- The original vertical format of 92.2 × 63 cm
- Portals held in deep purple-brown shadow
- The cream and ocher touches limited to the reliefs reached in the morning
Work sheet
| Title | Rouen Cathedral, morning sun W1355 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1893 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 92.2 × 63 cm |
| Orientation | Vertical |
| Conservation | Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France |
| Inventory | RF 2000 · Wildenstein 1355 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
The blue-gray and ocher harmony gives this reproduction a calm architectural presence. It is suitable for a library, office or entrance with walnut, light stone and patinated metal.
