À propos de l’œuvre
Les iris jaunes, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · circa 1914 -1917 · NMWA P.1986-0002 · W1826
Yellow irises, NMWA P.1986-0002 W1826hand painted reproduction
On a two-meter-high canvas, yellow irises emerge from almost nocturnal blue-green vegetation. Monet shows neither horizon, nor vase, nor edge of flower bed: the stems rise from below, the leaves cross and the light flowers seem suspended in space. The narrow format transforms the Giverny garden into a monumental decorative panel.
Look at the work
Yellow flowers rise like bursts of light in the middle of a curtain of blue-green leaves
Irises are divided into several asymmetrical groups. The tallest flowers occupy the upper third, then other corollas descend towards the center and bottom. Their spacing creates vertical circulation without forming a central bouquet.
The background is not a dark solid. It brings together stems, leaves and shadows posed by long touches of green, blue and purple. The yellows contain white, ocher and sometimes a greenish shade; they remain luminous without becoming uniformly lemon.
Monet brings light from the garden through the flowers themselves: each yellow iris responds to the blue depth of the foliage.
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 panel or screen format
The canvas measures two meters high and approximately one meter wide. This proportion accentuates the momentum of the stems and recalls Monet's sensitivity to Japanese decorative formats, where the pattern can mentally continue out of the frame.
A depth without linear perspective
No soil is clearly visible. Differences in scale, sharpness and color are enough to place flowers at several distances. The gaze circulates between the painted surface and a plant space that is difficult to measure.
A carefully modulated yellow-blue contrast
Warm flowers appear brighter because the background combines blue, green and purple. But Monet interrupts this contrast with greenish yellows and turquoise passages. Faithful reproduction must preserve these transitions.
Reference image
Read this specific version
The single reference image measures 1,500 × 3,000 px. It corresponds precisely to the canvas of the National Museum of Western Art and has been encoded as a real WebP to its native definition, without artificial enlargement.
Flowers distributed without a central axis
The irises respond to each other from left to right and top to bottom. No group completely dominates. This irregular organization maintains movement across the entire height and avoids the effect of a repeated pattern.
Cream yellow on petrol blue
Corollas range from warm white to golden ocher. The background changes from muffled emerald green to petrol blue and purple. The small light patterns in the leaves connect the two ranges.
Long vertical touches
The stems and leaves are painted in rising gestures, sometimes curved or interrupted. The flowers receive shorter and thicker touches. This contrast in material makes the corollas visible without a drawn outline.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
This information concerns the Yellow Irises of the National Museum of Western Art, inventory P.1986-0002 and Wildenstein 1826.
NMWA P.1986-0002, Wildenstein 1826
This oil on canvas from approximately 1914 -1917 measures 200 × 101 cm. Two Monet workshop stamps are marked, one at the top right and the other at the bottom left.
A decorative work in vertical format
The museum underlines the very decorative character of the composition and its relationship with Japanese sensitivity. The rising and undulating lines of the irises make the space deliberately ambiguous.
Acquired by the museum in 1986
After remaining in Michel Monet's entourage, the work has seen several collections and sales. The National Museum of Western Art acquired it in 1986 and preserves it under number P.1986-0002.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- The exact version of Tokyo, P.1986-0002 and Wildenstein 1826
- The original vertical ratio of 200 × 101 cm
- The asymmetrical distribution of corollas over the entire height
- The blue-green depth preserved behind the cream and ocher yellows
Work sheet
| Title | Yellow irises, NMWA P.1986-0002 W1826 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | around 1914 -1917 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 200 × 101 cm |
| Orientation | Vertical |
| Conservation | National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, Japan |
| Inventory | P.1986-0002 · Wildenstein 1826 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
Cream yellow, gold, deep green, petrol blue and purple give this hand-painted reproduction a spectacular presence without being garish. The vertical format enhances the high walls, stairwells and narrow spaces where the rise of irises can fully unfold.
