À propos de l’œuvre
Les lilyes, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · 1914 -1915 · Portland 59.16 · W1795
Water Lilies, Portland Art Museum W1795hand painted reproduction
White, pink and orange water lilies float on water where the sky, clouds and willow branches intersect. Monet removes all shore and all horizon: the pool fills the canvas. The leaves form a wide transverse band, while the vertical reflections descend towards the foreground. This large format work marks Monet's return to the Water Lilies and prepares the scale of his Great Decorations.
Look at the work
The flowers float on a space without horizon where the water becomes sky, depth and surface at the same time
The upper half opens with pink blues and light mauves, like a reflection of a cloud. A darker area occupies the upper right corner and evokes the presence of an off-camera willow. Water lily leaves pass through the composition without forming a regular frieze.
In the lower half, the vertical touches of green, turquoise and purple reflect the vegetation. A few red and orange flowers punctuate this dark depth. The circles painted near the bottom can be read as leaves, water lines or almost abstract gestures.
By removing the bank, Monet no longer shows the garden around the pool: he places the viewer in the middle of the reflections.
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 new beginning around 1914
After a period of mourning and reduced work, Monet returned to Water Lilies on large canvases. The Portland Art Museum places this work in 1914 -1915, at the time when the project of a decor capable of enveloping the eye was maturing.
Surface and depth combined
Flowers and leaves indicate the actual surface area of the water. Clouds and branches belong to its reflection. Monet superimposes these two readings without a horizon line, which causes the space between basin and color field to oscillate.
Increased freedom of touch
The leaves are placed in thick, rounded gestures, while the reflections use long vertical trails. Passages remain thinner and brighter. This diversity of material announces the large late panels.
Reference image
Read this specific version
The only reference photograph measures 3,744 × 3,180 px. It shows work 59.16 on display at the Portland Art Museum and has been encoded as a real WebP to its native definition, without artificial enlargement.
A slightly ascending strip of leaves
The main group starts from the left and moves up to the right. This flexible diagonal keeps the movement in a format close to the square and prevents the composition from dividing into two equal halves.
Pink blue, deep green and coral red
Cool tones dominate, but warm flowers introduce precise accents. Their saturation must remain localized: too much red would make the soft light of the reflected sky disappear.
Readable circles and verticals
Circular foreground markings and long color drips should not be smoothed. They make the surface mobile and bring the painting closer to an abstraction without losing the pelvic pattern.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
These landmarks concern precisely the Water Lilies of the Portland Art Museum, inventory 59.16 and Wildenstein 1795.
Portland Art Museum 59.16, W1795
The museum catalogs this oil on canvas from 1914 -1915 under number 59.16. Current image measurements are 62 1/4 × 69 7/8 inches, or approximately 158.1 × 177.5 cm.
An added varnish has been removed
The Portland Art Museum conducted a conservation campaign to remove a synthetic varnish that was not original. The treatment brought the surface closer to the matte appearance and colored ratios desired by Monet.
Purchase thanks to the Helen Thurston Ayer Fund
The painting belongs to the museum's European collection and bears the credit Museum Purchase: Helen Thurston Ayer Fund. It is among the institution's most appreciated works.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- The exact version of the Portland Art Museum, 59.16 and Wildenstein 1795
- The monumental format of 158.1 × 177.5 cm
- The strip of water lilies preserved in its flexible diagonal
- Vertical highlights, circles and coral accents kept visible
Work sheet
| Title | Water Lilies, Portland Art Museum W1795 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1914 - 1915 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 158.1 × 177.5 cm |
| Orientation | Almost square, slightly horizontal |
| Conservation | Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, United States |
| Inventory | 59.16 · Wildenstein 1795 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
Purple blue, willow green, turquoise, pale pink and coral give this hand-painted reproduction an immersive presence. The almost square format is suitable for a large open wall, in a living room or reading space with natural tones.
