À propos de l’œuvre
Mer agitée, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · 1881 · Rough seas · W663
Rough sea W663hand painted reproduction
Under a sky crossed by clouds, the sea covers almost the entire canvas and advances towards the viewer in long blue, green, mauve and white bands. This oil on canvas measuring 60 × 73.7 cm, painted in 1881, is kept at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa under number 4636.
Look at the work
A sea without anecdote, built solely by movement
No boat or character looks away. A high horizon line separates a relatively calm sky from a very active surface of water. In the foreground, the waves fold into curves and foam; further on, the keys become finer and more horizontal.
The whites of the foam contain blue and lilac. Dark areas bring together overseas, deep green and purple, while a few lighter passages reflect the light of the sky. This circulation of colors prevents the sea from becoming an opaque mass.
W663 removes all narrative to focus the painting on a single phenomenon: the way wind fragments the surface of water.
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 horizon placed very high
The small part reserved for the sky brings the viewer closer to the sea. The liquid surface becomes the true space of the painting and its movement develops from the distance to the lower edge.
Different gestures depending on the distance
Near the horizon, the lines are thin and almost parallel. In the foreground, they curve, cross and thicken the foam. This progressive transformation creates depth without geometric perspective.
Ottawa's version, W663
The dimensions of 60 × 73.7 cm, inventory 4636 and the Wildenstein reference 663 precisely identify this painting acquired by the museum in 1946.
Reference image
Read this specific version
Only one reference image is used. Ottawa's work is presented in real WebP of 1,114 × 900 px, at its best exact resolution available, without artificial enlargement.
A depth produced by rhythm
The size and direction of the keys change between the distance and the foreground. Faithful reproduction must maintain this acceleration to prevent the water from appearing flat.
A blue enriched with greens and purples
The sea is never monochrome. Cold greens, lilacs and colored grays modulate the blues and reveal the ridges, hollows and reflections of the sky.
Foam as discontinuous matter
The whites do not form regular lines. They emerge in broken, sometimes thick touches, then dissolve. Their irregularity is essential to the feeling of wind.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
The National Gallery of Canada documents Restless Sea, oil on canvas from 1881, 60 × 73.7 cm, acquired in 1946 under inventory 4636 and referenced Wildenstein 663.
Started in front of the motif
Like many of Monet's landscapes, the canvas originates in front of the sea and can then be taken up in the workshop. Direct observation provides the light effect, while subsequent work organizes the color ratios.
Acquired by the museum in 1946
The National Gallery of Canada included the work in its collections in 1946. It has since had the accession number 4636.
Neither coast nor boat
The absence of narrative reference makes the composition particularly radical. Only the horizon, clouds and sea movements make it possible to locate space.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- The exact version 4636, Wildenstein 663
- The original format of 60 × 73.7 cm
- The curved waves and discontinuous foam of the foreground
- Key gradation to high horizon
Work sheet
| Title | Rough sea W663 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1881 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 60 × 73.7 cm |
| Orientation | Horizontal |
| Conservation | National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Canada |
| Inventory | 4636 · Wildenstein 663 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
This seascape brings movement to a living room, entryway or office. A very light gray wall, blond wood and some deep blue or gray green accessories reinforce the palette without competing with the foam.
