À propos de l’œuvre
Les lilyes d'eau, le coucher du soleil, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · circa 1907 · National Gallery NG6608 · W1719
Water lilies at sunset W1719hand painted reproduction
The setting sun does not appear directly: its pink and yellow glow is reflected in the Giverny pond. Water lilies cross the dark areas, while a tuft of grass emerges in the foreground. Between the vertical reflections of the willows and the horizontal leaves, Monet keeps the gaze in a constant oscillation between surface and depth.
Look at the work
A pink and yellow sunset overturned in the dark water of the pool
The left part opens onto a large bright area, bordered by the calligraphic grasses in the foreground. On the right, the brown and green reflections become denser. The water lilies form several discontinuous lines which cross these two atmospheres and unify the composition.
The pink touches rise into the water like rays of light, while the willows are reflected by darker vertical trails. The leaves, painted laterally, restore the flatness of the pool. The canvas therefore reads both as a deep mirror and as a decorative surface.
W1719 does not represent the evening sky: it collects light from it in the water, between the leaves and the reflections of the willows.
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 bank index added to the foreground
The National Gallery points out that the tuft of grass at the bottom left approximately locates the viewer. A studio photograph shows the canvas without these plants, which may have been added after the first campaign in 1907.
A work preserved by Monet until 1923
Monet kept the painting in his studio for many years. He sold it to Bernheim-Jeune in 1923 and may have taken up certain passages on this date, when he re-examined several old works.
Surface and depth rendered simultaneously
Horizontal leaves affirm the body of water; vertical reflections suggest the sky and trees out of field. Reproduction must maintain this tension without transforming the pond into a landscape seen from the front.
Reference image
Read this specific version
Only one reference image is used: the high definition view documenting NG6608, converted into a true WebP of 4,000 × 3,164 px, without artificial enlargement.
An oblique light balanced by a dark bank
The yellow pink area mainly occupies the left and center. The darker reflections on the right give it depth, while the grasses on the lower edge bring the eye back to the foreground.
Salmon pink, golden yellow, dark green and purple brown
Warm colors remain mixed with gray and mauve. Greens have blue touches; browns contain red. No passage should become monochrome.
Fast grasses facing wider reflections
The stems are traced by fine, calligraphic gestures. The reflections use wider touches, while the leaves require a more opaque and lateral material.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
The National Gallery notice documents this version under inventory NG6608; the catalog raisonné records it under the number Wildenstein 1719.
Water lilies at sunset
This oil on canvas, painted around 1907, measures 73 × 92.7 cm. It is signed lower left and bears the number Wildenstein 1719.
National Gallery, NG6608
The painting entered the London collection in 2006 thanks to the bequest of Simon Sainsbury. It is now registered under number NG6608.
From Monet's workshop in London
Remaining with the artist until 1923, the painting then passed through Bernheim-Jeune, Henri Canonne and Durand-Ruel before entering Simon Sainsbury's collection.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- The London version, inventory NG6608 and Wildenstein 1719
- The original horizontal format of 73 × 92.7 cm
- Pink and yellow glows maintained as reflections rather than direct skies
- Calligraphic herbs and water lilies separated by their direction of touch
Work sheet
| Title | Water lilies at sunset W1719 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | Around 1907 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 73 × 92.7 cm |
| Orientation | Horizontal |
| Conservation | National Gallery, London, United Kingdom |
| Inventory | NG6608 · Wildenstein 1719 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
Salmon pink, golden yellow, dark green and purple brown create an enveloping atmosphere at the end of the day. This reproduction is suitable for a living room, bedroom or library with walnut, brass and warm light.
