À propos de l’œuvre
La Manneporte, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · Étretat · 1886 · W1052
La Manneporte near Étretat W1052hand painted reproduction
The Manneporte fills almost the entire vertical format: its arch opens to the left while an enormous chalk pillar descends to the sea. The rock receives blues, pinks, greens and ochres which dissolve its mass under the light. Painted in 1886, this oil on canvas measuring 81.3 × 65.4 cm is kept at the Metropolitan Museum of Art under number 31.67.11 and corresponds to Wildenstein 1052.
Look at the work
Vertical framing transforms the natural arch into an almost abstract wall
The top of the cliff cuts the upper edge and the right pillar descends the entire height. To the left, the opening of the arch reveals a strip of sea and sky, while the stony shore occupies a narrow triangle in the foreground.
The chalk strata are not described geologically. Monet reconstructs them with small touches of mauve, turquoise, gray and orange; the warm accents of the summit respond to the pink reflections of the lower part.
The Manneporte seems monumental because the frame leaves almost no distance: the viewer finds himself facing the very material of the cliff.
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.
An exceptional vertical format for the coast
The height of the canvas accompanies the pillar of the arch. The little visible sky and sea accentuates the proximity and power of the rock.
A decentered opening like breathing
The clear void beneath the arch prevents the cliff from becoming a closed wall. It leads towards the horizon while emphasizing the thickness of the pillar.
A light that dematerializes chalk
Warm and cold colors juxtapose without continuous contour. The Met highlights this effect of light which allows Monet to interpret the cliff in color and brightness.
Reference image
Read this specific version
The single high definition image of 2864 × 3537 px was reduced to 2429 × 3000 px and then encoded as a real WebP, without artificial enlargement.
Maintain the mass of the right pillar
Its width and contact with the edge give the scale of the pattern; reducing it would cause you to lose the feeling of proximity.
Preserve the red touches of the top
These very thin accents warm the cliff and respond to the blue grays without transforming the rock into a uniform surface.
Keep the ark's pale blue opening
The transition between sky and sea must remain gentle, but the horizon remains sufficiently readable to make you feel the depth.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
The Metropolitan Museum of Art documents La Manneporte near Étretat, oil on canvas from 1886, 81.3 × 65.4 cm, inventory 31.67.11 and Wildenstein catalog 1052.
An angle taken up in 1883, 1885 and 1886
The Met specifies that Monet painted the Manneporte six times from this point, twice during each of his three campaigns on the Normandy coast.
Several canvases followed according to the light
Maupassant's story describes Monet bringing five or six paintings and exchanging them to the rhythm of changes in the sky and shadows.
The Lillie P. Bliss legacy in 1931
The painting enters the Metropolitan Museum of Art with this founding legacy and has since been listed as inventory number 31.67.11.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- The Wildenstein 1052 version
- The vertical format of 81.3 × 65.4 cm
- The monumental pillar on the right
- The blues and roses that pass through the chalk
Work sheet
| Title | La Manneporte near Étretat W1052 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1886 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 81.3 × 65.4 cm |
| Orientation | Vertical |
| Conservation | The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States |
| Inventory | 31.67.11 · Wildenstein 1052 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
This vertical navy is suitable for an entrance, bookcase or narrow living room wall. A blue-gray, mineral brown or off-white background and a dark frame reinforce its sculptural presence.
