À propos de l’œuvre
Les meules de blé (fin d'été, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · 1890 -1891 · Les Meules · W1269
Wheat wheels, late summer W1269hand painted reproduction
Two wheat shepherds stand in a still vibrant field of late summer colors. This oil on canvas of 60 × 100.5 cm, inventory 1985.1103 at the Art Institute of Chicago, corresponds to Wildenstein 1269.
Look at the work
Two gerbiers transform the field into a study of light
The large millstone on the right occupies almost the entire height of the landscape, while a second, smaller and further away, balances the composition on the left. Between them, the gaze joins the houses of Giverny and the low hills. This play of scale makes the depth noticeable without resorting to a strong linear perspective.
The masses are never uniform. Earthy pink, purple, ocher and cold green intersect on the gerbiers; in the field, the blue and mauve touches refresh a yellow light that is still summery. The shadow cast by the large millstone leads the eye forward and gives the motif its monumental presence.
In W1269, the harvest becomes an architecture of light: stable in shape, changing with each touch of color.
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 calculated asymmetry
The large millstone is pushed to the right and visually cut by the edge of the field. The small millstone, the village and the line of hills compensate for its weight. Reproduction must maintain this difference in size, essential to the impression of space.
Gerbaria, not simple piles of hay
Monet depicts thatched wheat shepherds, erected after harvest in Clos Morin near his house. Their conical silhouette and compact base are weather resistant and provide a stable pattern to compare in multiple lights.
Version 1985.1103
The very elongated format of 60 × 100.5 cm, the two gerbiers and the Claude Monet 91 inscription identify the Chicago canvas. Its Wildenstein number 1269 sets it apart from the other late summer effects in the series.
Reference image
Read this specific version
Only one image is used: the documented scanning of the Art Institute of Chicago, converted into a true WebP of 3,000 × 1,778 px at its native resolution, without artificial enlargement.
A depth obtained by three planes
The colorful field, the two gerbiers then the village and the hill form a very readable succession. The details must gradually decrease without losing the general vibration.
Roses supported by blues
The mauves and blues of the soil prevent the ochres from becoming too hot. On the large millstone, roses only work if they remain mixed with muted greens and purples.
A dense but directional touch
The brushstrokes follow the straw on the millstones, lengthen in the field and become more melted in the sky. This variation gives volume without black outline.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
The Art Institute of Chicago documents an oil on canvas from 1890 -1891, 60 × 100.5 cm, inventory 1985.1103 and catalog Wildenstein 1269.
Art Institute of Chicago
The work entered the museum in 1985 through a donation from Arthur M. Wood Sr. in memory of Pauline Palmer Wood. It belongs to the remarkable set of millstones preserved in Chicago.
The series revealed in 1891
Monet presented fifteen Meules at Durand-Ruel in Paris in May 1891. Their critical and commercial success affirmed the principle of the same form observed under different light conditions.
A rich and varied surface
The museum's technical study describes a prepared linen canvas and complex pictorial material. A faithful copy must therefore preserve the changes in density between sky, field and straw.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- The exact version W1269, inventory 1985.1103
- The original very elongated format of 60 × 100.5 cm
- The difference in scale between the great gerbier and that of the distant one
- Cold mauves that balance pinks and ochres
Work sheet
| Title | Wheat wheels, late summer W1269 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1890 - 1891 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 60 × 100.5 cm |
| Orientation | Panoramic horizontal |
| Conservation | Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, United States |
| Inventory | 1985.1103 · Wildenstein 1269 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
This horizontal landscape naturally finds its place above a sofa or a low sideboard. Ecru walls, blond wood and a few gray blue textiles extend its light without fading the roses of the field.
