À propos de l’œuvre
La Seine à Argenteuil, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · A shaded walk on the banks of the Seine · Private collection
The Seine at Argenteuil W373hand painted reproduction
Under a large curtain of trees, a walk runs along the Seine d'Argenteuil. The figures move away on the clear path while the sailboats occupy the water and vast clouds cross the sky. Monet brings the green shadow of the bank into dialogue with the blue opening of the river, giving the scene the freshness of an afternoon lived on the motif.
Look at the work
The shaded bank gradually opens the view towards the water and the sky
The walk starts from the lower left corner and narrows towards a small light house. A fence accompanies its curve, while the foliage forms a vast dark canopy above. The silhouettes placed on the path give the scale of this plant vault.
On the right, the Seine extends to the opposite bank. White sails, small but luminous, punctuate the surface. The sky occupies a large part of the composition and its bluish white and gray clouds respond to the reflections of the water and the light spots of the path.
The path leads into the depth; the river and the sky simultaneously expand space to the right.
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 shared but continuous composition
The tree screen and water area could form two separate landscapes. Monet connects them by the bank line, the fence, the figures and the alternations of blue and green which circulate from one half to the other.
A shadow full of colors
Under the trees, the deep greens are crossed with yellow, blue and small light holes. The path receives spots of sunlight which prevent the bank from becoming an opaque mass.
Sails as distance markers
The white triangles draw the eye to the river then diminish towards the bottom. Their sharp but slight geometry contrasts with the more fragmented touch of leaves, water and clouds.
Reference image
Read this specific version
The reference corresponds to the 1875 canvas cataloged Wildenstein 373 and presented by Sotheby's in lot 9 in June 2014. The file of 2,880 × 2,152 px was kept at its native definition then encoded in WebP.
The path must remain bright under the trees
The pale ochres and blues of the ground appear between the shadows. If they disappear, the depth of the walk and the rhythm of the figures become much less readable.
The plant mass has several planes
Top foliage, fence shrubs and bottom trees have neither the same value nor the same temperature. These deviations create the thickness of the bank.
Sky is not just background
The large touches of white, blue and gray occupy almost as much attention as the terrestrial scene. They give general light and extend into the Seine.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
This oil on canvas measuring 59.8 × 79.8 cm is signed and dated Claude Monet 75 lower right. It is listed as Wildenstein 373 and today belongs to a private collection.
Presented at the second impressionist exhibition
Sotheby's identifies the painting at number 149 of the exhibition organized in 1876 by impressionist painters. It then appears in the personal exhibition devoted to Monet at Durand-Ruel in 1883, under number 13.
Acquired directly from Monet by Jean-Baptiste Faure
Singer and collector Jean-Baptiste Faure purchased the work from the artist in September 1875. His collection played an important role in the early recognition of Monet and his contemporaries.
From Durand-Ruel to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
The published provenance passes through Durand-Ruel in Paris and New York, then through Mrs Henry Potter Russell and her family. The painting was bequeathed to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 1974 before its sale in 1997.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- Preserve the large mass of shade without blocking its greens.
- Maintain the curve of the path and the thinness of the fence.
- Remove the white sails without oversizing them.
- Make the blues of the Seine respond to those of the sky.
Work sheet
| Title | The Seine at Argenteuil W373 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1875 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 59.8 × 79.8 cm |
| Orientation | Horizontal |
| Conservation | Private collection, Location not communicated |
| Inventory | Wildenstein 373 · Sotheby's, lot 9 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
The width of the landscape and the balance between light and shadow are suitable for a living room, dining room or office. A blond oak, deep green or matte gold frame supports plant tones while letting the sails and sky provide clarity.
