À propos de l’œuvre
Nénuphars et Pont Japonais, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · Giverny, 1899 · Princeton University Art Museum · W1509
Water lilies and Japanese bridge, Princeton W1509hand painted reproduction
The footbridge crosses the entire top of the pool like a pale green arch. Behind it, the willows fall in long blue touches and the yellow-green vegetation closes the garden. Under the opening, the water lilies multiply in successive strips up to the foreground. Princeton's digitization precisely reproduces the red signature "Claude Monet 99" and the very colorful material of the bridge.
Look at the work
Clear walkway separates a green curtain from a strip-built pond
The bridge rises above the center without becoming a rigid geometric shape. Its uprights combine pale green, yellow, blue and purple, while the underside of the arch remains much darker. On the left, the willow branches descend in vertical lines; on the right, shorter yellow touches open the foliage around the railing.
The pool begins under the arch with small, tight flowers, then extends downward in horizontal layers. The white and pink water lilies grow and become more spaced apart as they progress. Cobalt blue, red brown and dark green reflections alternate between light bands. The red signature at the bottom right echoes the floral accents.
The bridge immediately catches the eye, but the depth depends above all on the increasing size of the flowers and the alternation of reflections under the arch.
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 green balustrade crossed by purple
The bridge is neither white nor uniformly green. Color changes follow light and vegetation, giving the structure the same vibration as plants.
A dark passage under the arch
The deep blue green located under the bridge accentuates its curve and pushes the bottom back. The small light flowers placed in front of this shadow remain perfectly legible.
Wider and wider aquatic bands
Water lilies and reflections are organized into interrupted stages. Their downward enlargement creates perspective without a vanishing line or visible bank.
Details and visual documents
Observe the material and the exact version
The additional images show the difficult-to-read passages in the full view and, where it exists, the actual appearance of the work at the museum.
The reference scan measures 2000 × 1948 px, a definition significantly higher than the previously available image. The details of 1600 × 1050 px and 1500 × 1000 px are native cropping, without artificial enlargement. All three media are true controlled and decodable WebPs.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
These facts concern this precise version and are verified from the notice of the institution which keeps it.
Princeton y1972-15, Wildenstein 1509
The Princeton University Art Museum dates the work to 1899, gives dimensions of 90.5 × 89.7 cm and records the painting under the number y1972-15. It is signed and dated in red at the bottom right: Claude Monet 99.
Neighboring land transformed from 1893
The Asian garden was not part of Giverny's original property. Monet acquired the neighboring land, transformed the stream into a pond and enriched it with bamboo, ginkgo, Japanese fruit trees and a footbridge that had become one of his major motifs.
Gift from the family of William Church Osborn
William Church Osborn acquired the painting in 1905 after his time with Parisian merchants and Durand-Ruel. His family donated it to the museum in 1972; Osborn had been a Princeton administrator and president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- The exact version of Princeton, y1972-15 and W1509
- The original almost square format of 90.5 × 89.7 cm
- The pale green footbridge preserved colorful and irregular
- The progression of the water lily strips preserved up to the foreground
Work sheet
| Title | Water lilies and Japanese bridge, Princeton W1509 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1899 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 90.5 × 89.7 cm |
| Orientation | Almost square |
| Conservation | Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, New Jersey, United States |
| Inventory | y1972-15 · Wildenstein 1509 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
Emerald green, sage green, cobalt blue, pale pink and red brown produce a rich and bright image. This almost square reproduction is easily installed in a living room, entrance or bedroom, with natural wood, linen and soft lighting.
