À propos de l’œuvre
Les lilies d'eau, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · 1907 · Pola Museum 006-0360 · W1699
Water lilies W1699hand painted reproduction
A few groups of water lilies stand out against water crossed by green, blue and purple. The center, lighter and freer, lets the reflections of the sky circulate between the leaves. Painted in 1907, this almost square version shows how Monet transformed the Giverny basin into a shoreless surface where depth and flatness coexist.
Look at the work
An open green and blue pelvis around central breathing
The leaves gather mainly in the upper part and along the lower edge. Between them, Monet creates an area of calmer water which leads the eye towards the bottom without ever showing the horizon. The flowers, few in number, appear as small pink or white notes in the middle of the greens.
Long vertical touches suggest reflected trees, while leaves are placed in more horizontal and denser markings. This crossing of directions allows you to simultaneously read the surface of the pool and the inverted images which seem to sink behind it.
W1699 opens the pool from the middle: the water lilies mark the surface, but the light invites the eye to cross it.
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 landscape reduced to a mirror of water
Monet eliminates the shore, the bridge and the direct sky. The only visible elements are the floating flowers and the reflections of the vegetation. This radical framing characterizes the water landscapes that he prepared between 1903 and 1908.
An almost square composition but without symmetry
The format of 93.3 × 89.2 cm brings the four sides together, but the groups of leaves remain irregular. The central void, slightly offset, prevents an overly stable decorative effect and maintains the impression of movement.
A version precisely preserved in Hakone
The Pola Museum of Art identifies this painting as 006-0360. The Wildenstein catalog gives it the number 1699, which allows it to be distinguished from the numerous variants of 1906 and 1907.
Reference image
Read this specific version
Only one reference image is used: the full view published by the Pola Museum of Art, converted into a real WebP of 1,428 × 1,500 px, without artificial enlargement.
Floating groups around an open center
The upper water lilies respond to those in the foreground without forming a continuous crown. The central area must remain bright and mobile, because it gives breath to the composition.
Moss green, turquoise, purple blue and pale pink
The dominant greens contain yellow and blue passages. Purple reflections deepen the water, while pink flowers remain discreet but essential.
A superposition of vertical and horizontal gestures
The reflections are constructed by flexible streaks; the leaves receive firmer and lateral touches. Reproduction must maintain this opposition without freezing the contours.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
The official Pola Museum of Art notice documents this version under inventory 006-0360; it corresponds to Wildenstein number 1699.
Water Lilies, Wildenstein 1699
This oil on canvas from 1907 measures 93.3 × 89.2 cm. The signature "Claude Monet" is visible at the bottom right.
Pola Museum of Art, 006-0360
The work is housed in Hakone, Japan, in the collections of the Pola Museum of Art. Its inventory number is 006-0360.
The Giverny basin before the 1909 exhibition
Monet led an intensive campaign around Water Lilies between 1903 and 1908. He then selected a set of paintings for the exhibition "Water Lilies, series of water landscapes" organized by Durand-Ruel in 1909.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- The Pola Museum version, inventory 006-0360 and Wildenstein 1699
- The almost square proportions of 93.3 × 89.2 cm
- Clear breathing in the center preserved between groups of leaves
- The vertical reflections distinguished from water lilies by the direction and density of the key
Work sheet
| Title | Water lilies W1699 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1907 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 93.3 × 89.2 cm |
| Orientation | Almost square |
| Conservation | Pola Museum of Art, Hakone, Japan |
| Inventory | 006-0360 · Wildenstein 1699 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
Moss green, turquoise and purple blue create a fresh and meditative atmosphere. This reproduction is suitable for a bedroom, living room or reading space with natural wood, unbleached textiles and a sober setting.
