À propos de l’œuvre
L'église de Vernon, brouillard, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · 1894 · Shelburne 1972-69.4 · W1390
The Church of Vernon, fog W1390hand painted reproduction
The church of Vernon floats in a pink, blue and pale yellow fog. The square tower rises above an almost erased bank, while its reflection descends into the Seine without forming a symmetrical image. Monet reduces houses and trees to a few colored masses in order to make visible the luminous thickness of the air.
Look at the work
The church of Vernon and its reflection appear as two fragile forms within the fog
The building is located slightly to the left of the center. Its tower, the only clearly vertical shape, extends into the water by a purple trail. On the right, a mass of blue trees balances the building. The rest of the bank remains very low and leaves plenty of room for the sky and the Seine.
The values are deliberately brought together. Pink, creamy yellow, lavender blue and purple meet without a sharp edge. The touches of the tower are a little more compact; those of the sky and the water are more melted, which allows the church to emerge without being drawn.
In W1390, the fog does not erase the subject: it becomes its structure and transforms the church into a colorful apparition.
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 view of Vernon observed from the other bank
Monet worked around Vernon in 1894, a few kilometers from Giverny. By placing the Seine in the foreground, it separates the viewer from the city and can simultaneously study the real silhouette of the church and its dissolution in reflection.
The tower as the only stable landmark
The square mass of the tower remains identifiable despite the fog. Its edges are flexible, but its vertical organizes the whole. Faithful reproduction must avoid both the clean outline and the complete erasure of this shape.
A depth obtained by temperatures
Blues and mauves move away from the shore, while light pinks and yellows advance in the mist. This game replaces classic contrasts and gives the painting its feeling of humid space.
Reference image
Read this specific version
The single reference image measures 3,200 × 2,281 px. The Shelburne Museum file has since been reduced to 3,408 px wide and converted into a real WebP, without artificial enlargement.
The church and its reflection on the same axis
The vertical of the tower continues downwards, but the reflection is broken and wider. This continuity connects the city to the Seine without producing an exact mirror.
Misty pink, lavender blue and creamy yellow
The palette remains very clear. The purple passages give weight to the church and the trees, while the yellow maintains a diffuse light in the sky.
Denser material in architecture
The touches of the building are tighter than those of the atmosphere. The painter responsible for reproduction must preserve this difference without transforming the facade into a Gothic detail.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
This information relates exactly to The Church of Vernon, fog from the Shelburne Museum, 1972-69.4 and Wildenstein 1390.
Shelburne 1972-69.4, W1390
This oil on canvas from 1894 measures 25 1/2 × 35 1/2 inches, or approximately 64.8 × 90.2 cm.
From the Havemeyer family to the Shelburne Museum
The work belongs to the impressionist ensemble brought together by Louisine and Henry Havemeyer with the advice of Mary Cassatt, then passed on to their daughter Electra Havemeyer Webb.
Donation from the Electra Havemeyer Webb fund
The painting is numbered 1972-69.4 and is presented by the Shelburne Museum in rooms evoking the New York home of its founder.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- The Shelburne Museum version 1972-69.4 and Wildenstein 1390
- The original ratio of approximately 64.8 × 90.2 cm
- The readable tower without hard outline
- The fragmented and non-symmetrical purple reflection under the church
Work sheet
| Title | The Church of Vernon, fog W1390 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1894 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 64.8 × 90.2 cm |
| Orientation | Horizontal |
| Conservation | Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, Vermont, United States |
| Inventory | 1972-69.4 · Wildenstein 1390 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
Misty pink, lavender blue, creamy yellow, mauve and gray green make up a luminous and silent reproduction. It matches light walls, ecru fabrics and natural woods, in a bedroom, living room or office.
