À propos de l’œuvre
Un moulin à vent près de Zaandam, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · A Zaan mill in 1871 · Ashmolean Museum
A windmill near Zaandam W178hand painted reproduction
A large windmill stands on the left bank, almost vertically above the edge of the board. In front of him, a dark sailing boat crosses the water; further on, a small light sail punctuates the horizon. Under a gray and mobile sky, Monet constructs a very simple scene where the mass of the mill, the obliqueness of the sail and the reflection of the bank are enough to evoke the wind.
Look at the work
The mill fixes the landscape while the sails cross it
The silhouette of the mill occupies the left end. Its wings stand out against the sky and its base disappears behind a low bank, buildings and stakes. The bank extends into a dark line that narrows towards the center, opening a large expanse of water in front of the viewer.
The main boat wears a black-brown sail tilted to the right. Its reflection mixes with those of the banks in touches of green, brown and gray. The small cream sail, placed further away, creates a second depth; it responds to the clear gaps in the sky without diverting attention from the central mass.
Two silhouettes are enough: the motionless mill measures the wind that the sail makes visible.
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 visual weight placed on the edge
Monet does not center the mill. Its vertical mass stabilizes the left side and allows the sky as well as the water to extend to the right.
A large oblique in the sail
The dark sail cuts the horizon and introduces a sharp movement. Its inclination responds to the wings of the mill without repeating them exactly.
A depth obtained by the values
The first boat is dark, the distant sail is light and the shore gradually fades. The distance is read more by the contrasts than by the drawing.
Reference image
Read this specific version
The unique reference corresponds to the Ashmolean Museum's work WA1980.81. The best open file available measures 1000 × 579 px; it is kept at its native definition, without oversampling, then encoded in WebP.
A particularly stretched format
The width allows the mill, the dark boat and the light sail to be clearly separated. The water spaces between them are part of the rhythm.
A range of grays, greens and browns
Sky's not white and dark areas aren't black. Small temperature differences keep the atmosphere humid.
A denser touch on the bank
Piles, buildings and vegetation are treated with tight accents. In the water and the sky, the gestures widen and allow the canvas to breathe more.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
This oil on canvas from 1871 belongs to the Ashmolean Museum under inventory WA1980.81 and corresponds to Wildenstein number 178.
Four months of work in Zaandam
After his stay in London, Monet discovered a Dutch landscape punctuated by mills, canals and navigation in 1871. He painted around twenty-five paintings there.
A traditional motif made contemporary
The mill evokes ancient Dutch painting, but Monet renounces careful description. It favors light, air and real boat traffic.
A work preserved in Oxford
The Ashmolean Museum identifies this version as A Mill near Zaandam. The WA1980.81 inventory allows us to distinguish it from the numerous mills painted by Monet during the same stay.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- Maintain the very lateral position of the mill and the exact height of its wings.
- Differentiate between the black-brown sail of the boat and the small light sail of the distance.
- Maintain atmospheric transitions in the sky without creating overly defined clouds.
- Vibrate reflections with broken touches rather than symmetrical shapes.
Work sheet
| Title | A windmill near Zaandam W178 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1871 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 41 × 72.5 cm |
| Orientation | Panoramic |
| Conservation | Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, United Kingdom |
| Inventory | WA1980.81 · Wildenstein 178 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
Its elongated format and sober contrasts are suitable above a sofa, desk or sideboard. A walnut, softened black or patinated bronze frame highlights the mill and the sail without closing the horizon.
