À propos de l’œuvre
Les lilyes, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · 1906 · NMW A 2487 · W1688
Water lilies W1688hand painted reproduction
A pale white and blue light occupies the center of the pool, surrounded by purple, pink and green water lilies. The bank has disappeared: the water rises to the four edges and becomes a limitless space where floating flowers, reflections of the sky and vegetation merge. This 1906 version is one of three Water Lilies paintings acquired in Paris by Gwendoline Davies.
Look at the work
A pool open like a sky, punctuated with leaves and flowers
Monet adopts the high view offered by the Japanese bridge. The leaves concentrate on the sides and in the lower part, leaving a large clear area in the center. This breathing leads the gaze through the surface without ever revealing the edge of the pelvis.
The flowers are only small pink and mauve touches, sometimes almost drowned in greens. The reflections develop into soft passages of blue, pale yellow and purple gray. The whole remains luminous despite the absence of a directly represented sky.
W1688 gives water unlimited depth while reminding, through each floating sheet, that it remains a surface.
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 viewpoint from the Japanese bridge
Museum Wales says Monet looks at the basin from its deck, producing a very sloping, bankless plane. The surface of the water can thus mentally extend beyond the frame.
Waterscapes as an obsession
In 1908, Monet described these landscapes of water and reflections as an obsession. Cardiff's version belongs to this countryside where he seeks less to describe the garden than to convey what he perceives in the changing mirror of the pond.
The acquisition of Gwendoline Davies
Gwendoline Davies purchased this painting in Paris in 1913 with two other Water Lilies. The group joined the Welsh national collections by bequest in 1952 and formed a major ensemble of the Davies collection.
Reference image
Read this specific version
Only one reference image is used: the official Museum Wales file, converted into a real WebP of 915 × 800 px, preserved at its native definition without artificial enlargement.
A light center surrounded by plant crowns
The leaves form several peripheral clusters, but no continuous border. The central area must remain ample and crossed with nuances in order to maintain its aerial depth.
Milky blue, yellow green, mauve and pink
The palette is clear and cold. Yellow greens warm up the upper highlights, while mauves and pinks liven up the flowers without breaking the overall softness.
Layered colored sails
Reflections are obtained by thin, brushed passages; the leaves receive more opaque touches. This difference in material makes it possible to distinguish what floats from what is reflected.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
Amgueddfa Cymru - Museum Wales preserves this work under the inventory NMW A 2487; it corresponds to Wildenstein number 1688.
Water lilies, Wildenstein 1688
This oil on canvas from 1906 measures 81.6 × 92.7 cm. It belongs to the countryside of water landscapes painted in Giverny at the beginning of the 20th century.
National Museum Cardiff, NMW A 2487
Purchased in Paris in 1913 by Gwendoline Davies, the work entered the national collections of Wales in 1952 through her bequest.
The basin without a bank
The high viewpoint removes the horizon and transforms the reflective surface into continuous space. Water lilies provide scale and maintain reading of the body of water.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- The National Museum Cardiff version, inventory NMW A 2487
- The original horizontal format of 81.6 × 92.7 cm
- The blue-white center kept bright and nuanced
- Peripheral sheets made more opaque than reflections
Work sheet
| Title | Water lilies W1688 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1906 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 81.6 × 92.7 cm |
| Orientation | Horizontal |
| Conservation | National Museum Cardiff, Cardiff, United Kingdom |
| Inventory | NMW A 2487 · Wildenstein 1688 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
Milky blue, soft green, mauve and pink give this reproduction a clear and meditative presence. It is suitable for a bedroom, living room or relaxation area with ivory walls and light wood.
