À propos de l’œuvre
Au Petit-Gennevilliers, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · Sailboats moored on the opposite bank in Argenteuil · Private collection
At Petit-Gennevilliers W337hand painted reproduction
Two large white sails rise above boats moored near Petit-Gennevilliers. On the left, light houses and a row of poplars follow the bank; in the foreground, the blue-gray water reflects the hulls, masts and sky in small horizontal touches. Monet thus balances contemporary nautical activity and the tranquility of a still semi-rural landscape.
Look at the work
The clear sails give a mobile architecture to the bank of the Seine
A dark boat occupies the left edge, while a boat seen in profile stretches in the center. Their vertical masts cut the bank line. The two main sails, almost triangular, are arranged at different distances and open the depth towards the trees and houses.
The bank forms a long horizontal band punctuated with slender poplars. Some cream facades and orange roofs introduce warm accents between the greens. In the water, the reflections do not mechanically reproduce the objects: they fragment them into blues, mauves, yellows and whites which give the pool its movement.
Sails are objects of modern leisure, surfaces capturing light and geometric shapes that organize the entire landscape.
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 depth stepped by boats
The nearby dark hull, the central boat and the more distant sails mark several distances. Monet avoids a rigid perspective: overlaps and differences in scale are enough to lead towards the shore.
The white of the sails is colored
Blue, gray, cream and slightly pink passages modulate the surfaces. These shades connect them to the sky and water while retaining their role as points of light.
Vertical and horizontal in balance
The masts and poplars cross the great horizontality of the Seine. Their irregularity prevents the image from becoming static, while the hulls and their reflections maintain a calm base in the foreground.
Reference image
Read this specific version
The visual corresponds to Au Petit-Gennevilliers, oil on canvas from 1874 listed Wildenstein 337. The reference of 864 × 640 px is kept at its native definition in a real WebP file.
Both sails have neither the same shape nor the same white
The central sail is wide and slightly grayed out; the one on the right is narrower and lighter. Maintaining these differences maintains the succession of plans.
Poplars punctuate the bank without forming a fence
Their fine trunks appear and disappear in the foliage. They must remain flexible and spaced out, with varied heights, so as not to freeze the landscape.
The reflections are freer than their sources
Under the boats, the color disperses in short, irregular touches. Avoiding too exact vertical symmetry restores the natural mobility of the water.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
Painted in 1874, this oil on canvas measures 54.6 × 73.3 cm. Signed lower right, it now belongs to a private collection and bears the number Wildenstein 337.
Le Petit-Gennevilliers facing Argenteuil
The bank of Petit-Gennevilliers is located opposite Argenteuil, where Monet lived from 1871 to 1878. This basin, very frequented by sailboats, offers him motifs combining water, leisure, houses and vegetation.
Victor Chocquet among Monet's first defenders
Victor Chocquet is the first known owner of the painting. A customs official and passionate collector, he supported the Impressionists very early on, despite the hostility that still accompanied their exhibitions.
From the Havemeyer family to a private collection
The work then entered the famous collection of Louisine and Henry Osborne Havemeyer in New York. Kept in their family for several generations, it was presented by Christie's in 2016 before joining a private collection.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- Preserve the exact layout of the hulls and the two large sails.
- Color whites with sky and water tones.
- Maintain irregularity of masts and poplars.
- Fragment reflections without aligning them under each object.
Work sheet
| Title | At Petit-Gennevilliers W337 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1874 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 54.6 × 73.3 cm |
| Orientation | Horizontal |
| Conservation | Private collection, Unpublished location |
| Inventory | Wildenstein 337 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
This clear, nautical view is suitable for a living room, dining room or office. A blond, off-white or gray blue oak frame accompanies the sails; a linen, celadon or pearl gray wall brings out the warm roofs.
