À propos de l’œuvre
La Meule, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · 1891 · Series of Grinding Wheels · W1285
Meule at sunset W1285hand painted reproduction
A solitary millstone stands in front of a wide blue band, under a pale gold sky. This oil on canvas measuring 65 × 92 cm, signed and dated lower left, belongs to a private collection and corresponds to Wildenstein number 1285.
Look at the work
A simple shape becomes the center of a blue and gold chord
The millstone is placed almost in the center and fills the height of the field. Its irregular top stands out against the yellow of the sky, while its base blends into a land crossed by reds and greens. The blue stripe of the background cuts the composition horizontally and amplifies the warmth of the pattern.
The light does not come from a represented sun. It is contained in the golden sky and in the red touches that quiver on the sides of the millstone. The deep blue of the distance acts as a complement: it cools the space and makes the orange-browns more intense.
In W1285, Monet reduces the landscape to three masses - sky, distant blue, millstone - then makes them vibrate with a multitude of colorful touches.
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 monumental and frontal millstone
The central motif is closer than in the first paintings in the series. Its almost architectural presence announces the late compositions where Monet pushes a natural fragment to the limits of the frame.
Blue as a partner of light
The great blue zone is neither a sea nor a uniform wall: it brings together the distance, the cold air and the evening shadows. Its intensity brings out the yellow of the sky and the reds of the millstone.
The Wildenstein 1285 version
The 65 × 92 cm format, the signature at the bottom left and the centered composition distinguish this canvas from W1282, more wintery, and W1290, where the enormous grinding wheel is cut by the right edge.
Reference image
Read this specific version
Only one image is used: the documented public reproduction of W1285, converted to a true WebP of 1280 × 918 px at its native resolution, without any artificial enlargement.
An irregular peak
The tip is not geometric: it results from superimposed strands and keys. Preserving this slight asymmetry avoids transforming the gerbier into a rigid pyramid.
A nuanced blue
The distance mixes gray cyan, cobalt blue and purple passages. These variations must remain visible to support the depth behind the central shape.
Reds embedded in brown
Warm accents don't form an outline. They appear between greens, browns and purples, as if the light of the sunset penetrates the material of the gerbier.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
The reference documents an oil on canvas from 1891, 65 × 92 cm, kept in a private collection and cataloged Wildenstein 1285.
Wildenstein 1285
The canvas belongs to the final part of Giverny's series, when Monet brings the pattern together and greatly simplifies the background.
Claude Monet 91
The signature and date appear at the bottom left. They confirm the completion in 1891, the year of the Meules exhibition at Durand-Ruel.
Private collection
No current museums are documented for this version. The Wildenstein number and dimensions constitute the reliable benchmarks of the sheet.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- The exact version W1285, distinct from other Grinding Wheels
- The original format of 65 × 92 cm
- The blue band preserved in all its depth
- Red and green accents integrated into the mass of the gerbier
Work sheet
| Title | Meule at sunset W1285 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1891 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 65 × 92 cm |
| Orientation | Horizontal |
| Conservation | Private collection, non-public location |
| Inventory | Wildenstein 1285 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
The blue, ocher and terracotta accord provides a strong color without aggression. This work works in a living room, dining room or office with oak, brown leather and gray blue textiles.
