À propos de l’œuvre
Nymphéas bleus, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · 1916 -1919 · Musée d'Orsay RF 1981 40 · W1853
Blue Water Lilies, Musée d'Orsay W1853hand painted reproduction
The pool fills a square of more than two meters, without sky, without bank and without dominant center. Green and turquoise leaves float on cobalt blue water, while white flowers appear like small breaths. Long vertical touches descend from the top and transform the reflection of the plants into an almost abstract framework.
Look at the work
On cobalt blue water, green water lilies and vertical reflections transform the pool into an almost abstract field
The leaves concentrate in the middle band, but they do not form a continuous line. Some are described by a dark green oval, others by a few turquoise or purple markings. The white flowers, few in number, break this density without becoming too clear dots.
The edges remain partially unpainted and reveal the light canvas. In the center and in the upper half, the blue, green and purple gestures overlap with great freedom. This visible material maintains the work between water landscape and autonomous surface.
The canvas requires a double look: from a distance, the pelvis recomposes itself; up close, each brush trace asserts its own color and its own rhythm.
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.
An almost square and monumental format
The 204 × 200 cm removes any obvious panoramic direction. No point attracts lasting attention, which gives the pond fragment a feeling of infinity.
The disappearance of the horizon
The Musée d'Orsay emphasizes that the sky and the shore are completely evacuated. Depth arises only from leaves, reflections and variations in the surface.
Edges left open
Uncovered canvas areas accentuate the material presence of the paint. They must remain visible and not be filled or cropped out of the image.
Reference image
Read this specific version
The single Google Arts source image measures 5,649 × 5,621 px. It was reduced to 4,800 × 4,777 px to meet Shopify's technical limit, then converted to a true WebP; no artificial enlargement was applied.
A range dominated by blue
Cobalt, ultramarine, turquoise and purple respond to each other, but greens and small whites prevent the whole thing from becoming monochrome.
Vertical gestures in a horizontal surface
The reflections descend from the top and cross the floating of the leaves. This opposition creates depth without contour or classic perspective.
A freedom that announces lyrical abstraction
Brands don't always describe an identifiable plant. Their energy, their superposition and their intervals have influenced the modern reading of the last Monet.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
These landmarks concern the Blue Water Lilies of the Musée d'Orsay, inventory RF 1981 40 and Wildenstein 1853.
Musée d'Orsay RF 1981 40, W1853
This oil on canvas, painted between 1916 and 1919, measures 204 × 200 cm. The format is almost square, with edges partially left unpainted.
Then in the Tériade collection
The painting goes from the artist's son, Michel Monet, to the publisher and collector E. Tériade. National museums acquired it in 1981 for the Musée d'Orsay.
The Giverny basin at the heart of late work
During the last years, Monet focused his work on water, plants and their reflections. Here, the close framing transforms a fragment of nature into limitless space.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- The exact version of the Musée d'Orsay, RF 1981 40 and Wildenstein 1853
- The original monumental format of 204 × 200 cm
- Unpainted edges kept visible around the composition
- Blues, purples and greens preserved without uniform darkening
Work sheet
| Title | Blue Water Lilies, Musée d'Orsay W1853 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1916 - 1919 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 204 × 200 cm |
| Orientation | Almost square |
| Conservation | Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France |
| Inventory | RF 1981 40 · Wildenstein 1853 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
Cobalt blue, turquoise, emerald green, purple and gray white give this almost square reproduction a deep presence. It is suitable for a clear wall in a living room, entrance or reception area with a sober frame.
