À propos de l’œuvre
Champ de coquelicots, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · Vétheuil · 1881 · W677
Poppy field W677hand painted reproduction
Under an immense sky, almost white with light, a field of poppies extends in green and red bands to a very low horizon. A thin, irregular tree rises on the right, accompanied by a few bushes; on the left, a more compact group of trees balances its silhouette. Dated and signed 1881, this oil on canvas measuring 58 × 79 cm is kept at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen under number 2611 (MK) and corresponds to Wildenstein 677.
Look at the work
An excessive sky suspends the field between light and wind
The horizon is placed well below the center. The field occupies the first third, then a thin blue plain separates the flowers from the sky; this very open structure gives the tree on the right a disproportionate presence, as if it were bending alone in space.
Poppies become small red commas scattered among greens, blues and yellows. The sky is not a flat: cream, pink and pale blue veils overlap, with a few lighter clouds near the upper edge.
W677 doesn't look for the spectacular abundance of a red carpet: Monet leaves plenty of air between the flowers and gives the sky the main half of the canvas, turning the field into a threshold of 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.
A deliberately lowered horizon
The distant line crosses the canvas at low height. It enlarges the sky and brings out the slightest vertical, in particular the isolated tree placed on the right.
Asymmetrical vegetation
The dark group on the left and the winding tree on the right don't exactly respond to each other. Their imbalance suggests a landscape seen from life rather than a centered composition.
Poppies rendered in small, quick touches
The museum emphasizes these lively and nervous accents. They do not describe each flower, but circulate the red through the greens in the foreground.
Reference image
Read this specific version
The single reference image is kept at its definition of 2,200 × 1,609 px then encoded in real WebP, without artificial enlargement.
Keep more sky than terrain
This proportion is the signature of W677. Reducing the sky would make the tree mundane and wrongly bring the scene closer to another field of poppies.
Preserve the nuanced paleness of the atmosphere
The sky contains blue, cream, sea green and pink. A uniform white would make its depth and changes of light disappear.
Keeping flowers as spaced accents
Reds should appear in the grass without forming a continuous band. This breathing maintains the subtlety of the composition.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
The Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen preserves Poppy Field, oil on canvas from 1881, 58 × 79 cm, inventory 2611 (MK) and Wildenstein catalog 677.
Vétheuil, on the hillsides of the Seine
The instructions place the achievement in Vétheuil. Monet transforms a very simple landscape into a study of proportions between field, horizon, trees and sky.
Signature and dating "Claude Monet 81"
The inscription at the bottom left confirms the year 1881 and distinguishes this horizontal canvas from the poppy fields of 1873, 1880 or 1890.
DG van Beuningen collection, entered in 1958
The museum acquires the work with this collection and gives it the number 2611 (MK). It is today kept in reserve.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- The Wildenstein 677 version
- The horizon very low
- The tree isolated and curved to the right
- Little red touches spaced out in the grass
Work sheet
| Title | Poppy field W677 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1881 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 58 × 79 cm |
| Orientation | Horizontal |
| Conservation | Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| Inventory | 2611 (MK) · Wildenstein 677 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
This very airy horizontal landscape is suitable for a living room, bedroom or office. An off-white, sea green or blue-gray wall and a light frame highlight its immense bright sky.
