À propos de l’œuvre
Effet de neige à Giverny, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · 1893 · private collection · W1331
Snow effect in Giverny W1331hand painted reproduction
Under an almost white light, the houses of the place called Le Pressoir barely appear behind the snow and fog. The sky, the trees and the field come together until they seem made of the same material. A few blues, mauves and grays are nevertheless enough to bring out the village and the path which crosses the foreground.
Look at the work
Giverny erased by snow, between whiteness, fog and human presence
The composition is constructed in very soft horizontal bands: the snowy field, the houses grouped in the middle, the line of trees then the sky. The small dark bumps in the foreground mark a passage towards the buildings and prevent the whiteness from becoming an empty surface.
The houses are not drawn by contours. Monet makes them appear by slight differences in value: a denser blue for the roofs, a gray purple for the walls and a few barely visible verticals. The landscape remains silent but the group of dwellings introduces an idea of shelter.
W1331 is almost monochrome, but its whiteness remains alive because it mixes snow, sky, mist and light in different proportions.
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 unique motif in the 1893 campaign
Christie's describes this painting as the only painting in this group of houses created by Monet. He sets up his easel in Clos Marin, to the west of his property, opposite the buildings of the place called Le Pressoir.
Snow transforms familiar shapes
The white coat softens the volumes, reflects the light and brings the plans together. Monet exploits this erasure without losing the structure: the roofs, the path and the trees remain readable thanks to minimal deviations of blue and mauve.
The prelude to the views of the frozen Seine
This painting opens the winter campaign of January 1893. Shortly after, Monet went to Bennecourt and Port-Villez to paint the frozen river and then the debacle. The same interest in colored grays and cold light runs through the entire series.
Reference image
Read this specific version
Only one reference image is used. The full view has been preserved as a true WebP of 2200 × 1545 px, without additional enlargement.
Almost melted parallel bands
Field, houses, trees and sky overlap without brutal contrast. Reproduction must keep these limits flexible while maintaining the small progression that leads towards the village.
Bluish white, pearl gray, lilac and mauve
White is built by several temperatures. Blues cool the snow, purple enlivens the trees and a weak pink heat appears near the sky.
A light layer enriched with covers
Smears from the sky and the field let the canvas breathe. Houses receive more precise but still broken touches, and terrain accidents are indicated without black outline.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
Christie's notice precisely identifies the work as Snow Effect at Giverny, Wildenstein 1331.
Wildenstein 1331
This oil on canvas measures 65.4 × 92.7 cm. It is signed and dated "Claude Monet 93" lower left.
Le Pressoir, west of Monet's house
Monet looks at a group of houses and agricultural buildings from Clos Marin, a field where he had previously worked in Les Meules. The snow reduces the pattern to a few essential shots.
From Durand-Ruel to American collections
Durand-Ruel acquired the painting from Monet in 1895. It then passed through Clement A. Griscom and John T. Spaulding before remaining for nearly seventy years in the same family collection.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- Wildenstein version 1331, signed and dated 1893
- The original format of 65.4 × 92.7 cm
- Whites differentiated by subtle blues, grays and mauves
- The houses present without hard contours or artificial contrasts
Work sheet
| Title | Snow effect in Giverny W1331 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1893 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 65.4 × 92.7 cm |
| Orientation | Horizontal |
| Conservation | Private collection, Non-public location |
| Inventory | Wildenstein 1331 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
Bluish white, pearl gray and lilac give this reproduction a calm luminosity. It is suitable for a minimalist interior, bedroom or meditation space with light oak, wool and an off-white or patinated silver frame.
