À propos de l’œuvre
Le Moulin de Limetz, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · Limetz · 1888 · W1210a
The Limetz Mill W1210ahand painted reproduction
Behind a curtain of blue, green and purple branches, the old Limetz mill appears on the banks of the Epte like a mass of stone reclaimed by vegetation. Signed and dated Claude Monet 88 lower left, this oil on canvas measuring 92 × 72.9 cm is kept at the Museum Barberini under the number MB-Mon-39 and corresponds to Wildenstein 1210a.
Look at the work
The mill is not shown from afar: it appears in the middle of the foliage
The building is pushed towards the right edge and partially hidden by a central tree. The bank and branches occupy almost the entire foreground, producing an unusual proximity to the pattern.
Cobalt blue, emerald green, purple and pink make up both the shadows and the foliage. The light stone of the mill only forms a luminous breath in this dense framework.
Monet transforms an architectural subject into a plant experience: we recognize the mill, but the real motif is the light which filters between the water, the branches and the stone.
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 deliberately obstructed framing
The trunk and branches interrupt the view instead of framing it wisely. This obstruction gives the sensation of a gaze caught in the undergrowth.
Architecture absorbed by color
The walls are not drawn by clear contours. Their grays, pinks and blues mingle with the tones of the shore and make the mill part of the landscape.
A precisely listed version
W1210a is distinguished by its vertical format, its rejected building on the right and its first plan of foliage very close by. The Museum Barberini records it under MB-Mon-39.
Reference image
Read this specific version
Only one exact image of W1210a is used. The real WebP measures 1711 × 2200 px and retains the available definition without artificial enlargement.
Preserve the central trunk
It divides the surface and hides part of the building. Mitigating it would make the composition more conventional than it is.
Maintain the blues and purples of the foliage
They structure shadows without making them black. A uniform green cast would remove the vibration characteristic of this version.
Keep the stone in fragmented touches
The mill must remain readable without becoming hard. Its walls are built in small, clear variations rather than a precise line.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
The Museum Barberini documents The Limetz Mill, oil on canvas from 1888, 92 × 72.9 cm, signed and dated lower left, inventory MB-Mon-39 and Wildenstein 1210a.
A flour mill on the banks of the Epte
The motif is located in Limetz, near Giverny. Monet returns to this building several times, varying the point of view and the density of the plant cover.
A work passed very early by Boussod, Valadon et Cie
Acquired from Monet at the end of 1888, the painting then passed through several private collections before its entry into the Museum Barberini.
Museum Barberini, Potsdam
The work is numbered MB-Mon-39. The institutional notice also retains the Wildenstein reference 1210a, sometimes published as 1210 bis.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- The Wildenstein 1210a version
- The vertical format of 92 × 72.9 cm
- The trunk that cuts off the view
- Light walls absorbed by foliage
Work sheet
| Title | The Limetz Mill W1210a |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1888 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 92 × 72.9 cm |
| Orientation | Vertical |
| Conservation | Museum Barberini, Potsdam, Germany |
| Inventory | MB-Mon-39 · Wildenstein 1210a |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
This deep composition is suitable for a library, living room or office. A midnight blue, sage green or mineral beige wall and a dark frame highlight its plant blues.
