À propos de l’œuvre
Leur, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · Ligurian Riviera · 1884 · W854
Bordighera W854hand painted reproduction
Winding pines almost cover the view of Bordighera: the village and its bell tower appear between the trunks, in front of a thin strip of Mediterranean. This oil on canvas measuring 65 × 80.8 cm, signed Claude Monet 84, is the 1922.426 version of the Art Institute of Chicago, Wildenstein 854.
Look at the work
The village is discovered through a curtain of Mediterranean pines
The curved trunks cross the canvas like a network. The city occupies only a low, light strip, while the much closer foliage controls the rhythm of the entire composition.
The pink and cream facades heat the center; the blue sea and sky cool the background. The greens in the foreground contain yellows and purples which prevent the vegetation from becoming compact.
W854 replaces the expected panorama with a filtered vision: the nearby vegetation determines what the viewer can see of the city and the sea.
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.
Pins designed from the first installation
The museum's technical study shows that Monet established the network of trunks very early on, then developed the city, the sea and the foliage around him.
A bell tower moved
Examinations revealed a first position of the bell tower to the right of the central trunk. Monet moves it to the left so that it remains visible between the trees.
The Potter Palmer version
Inventory 1922.426, the format of 65 × 80.8 cm and Wildenstein 854 identify the canvas entered Chicago with the Potter Palmer Collection.
Reference image
Read this specific version
Only one reference image is used. The exact scan of W854 is provided in true WebP of 3000 × 2414 px, without artificial enlargement.
A network of asymmetrical curves
The trunks never form a regular grid. Their inflections and intervals produce the balance between obstruction and opening.
Colorful whites on the trunks
Monet adds light, thick accents to suggest the sun. They must remain punctual so as not to cut out trees like silhouettes.
An alternation of thin and thick layers
The preparation appears in places under the keys, while the trunks and certain foliage receive a more loaded material.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
The Art Institute of Chicago documents Bordighera, oil on canvas from 1884, 65 × 80.8 cm, inventory 1922.426 and Wildenstein 854.
Solitary work on the Riviera
Monet returned alone to Bordighera in January 1884 and extended his stay for almost three months to respond to new vegetation and light.
The città alta behind the pines
The ancient village is seen from a height. The bell tower and facades serve as landmarks in the middle of a framing dominated by trees.
Claude Monet 84
The signature and date appear at the bottom left in a red-brown tint integrated into the foliage.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- Version 1922.426, Wildenstein 854
- The winding trunks that cross the frame
- The bell tower placed between the branches
- The thin strip of the Mediterranean
Work sheet
| Title | Bordighera W854 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1884 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 65 × 80.8 cm |
| Orientation | Horizontal |
| Conservation | Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, United States |
| Inventory | 1922.426 · Wildenstein 854 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
Bordighera brings dense plant depth to a living room or library. A stone wall, walnut and deep blue or ocher accents highlight the city and the sea.
