À propos de l’œuvre
Nymphéas, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · 1916 -1919 · Fondation Beyeler · W1854
Water lilies W1854hand painted reproduction
Olive green water lily leaves float on lilac blue water, punctuated with pink and white flowers. No horizon separates the pool from the reflected sky. This large oil on canvas measuring 200 × 180 cm, kept at the Fondation Beyeler under the number Inv.03.2, is Wildenstein 1854.
Look at the work
The pool becomes a field of color without horizon
The large leaves concentrate to the left and lower half, then space out towards the center. On the right, vertical stems and their reflections cross the water like fine writing. Monet shows neither bank nor depth classic perspective: the surface of the pool fills the entire visual field.
The blues, pearly pinks and yellow greens are laid in visible layers. Some shapes are thick and surrounded; others dissolve in clear repeats. The painting thus oscillates between recognizable landscape and almost abstract composition, depending on the distance at which it is observed.
W1854 does not only represent flowers on the water: it superimposes the bottom of the pool, its surface, the plants and the reflected sky in the same pictorial space.
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.
The great canvas of the Fondation Beyeler
The Foundation's notice gives the dimensions of 200 × 180 cm, the inventory Inv.03.2 and the Wildenstein number 1854. Its scale envelops the eye much more than an easel study.
A late work by Giverny
Between 1916 and 1919, Monet radically enlarged his water landscapes. In his workshop, he takes up memories and observations of the pool to create compositions where the motif extends mentally beyond the edges.
A surface followed by restaurateurs
The Fondation Beyeler documented the examination of the work and the project to remove an acrylic varnish added during an old restoration. The museum emphasizes that this film modified the matte character and pastel balance sought by Monet.
Reference image
Read this specific version
Only one image is used: the documented photograph of the work Inv.03.2, converted into a real WebP of 2,699 × 3,000 px from the source of 3,057 × 3,397 px, without artificial enlargement.
An asymmetrical mass of leaves
Water lilies should not be distributed evenly. The visual weight is mostly on the left and bottom, while the blue space in the center and top allows the composition to breathe.
Bright pastels, never bleached
Lavender blue, powder pink and olive green remain colored even in the lightest areas. Reproduction that is too white would erase overlays and reflections.
A material alternating thickness and transparency
The leaves receive thicker touches and dark contours, while the water is made of smears, repeats and thinner passages. This contrast builds the buoyancy of the pattern.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
The Fondation Beyeler documents an oil on canvas from 1916 -1919, 200 × 180 cm, inventory Inv.03.2 and catalog Wildenstein 1854.
Beyeler Foundation, Inv.03.2
After Michel Monet and Wildenstein & Co., the work passed into a private American collection. Acquired by the Beyeler collection in 2001, she joined the Foundation in 2003.
Two meters high
The height of 200 cm transforms the pool into a physical experience. The gaze no longer dominates a small landscape: it is placed facing a surface of water almost on a human scale.
Wildenstein 1854
The vertical format, the pile of leaves in the lower part and the reflected stems on the right distinguish this Water Lilies from the many other late versions.
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 Fondation Beyeler, Inv.03.2 and W1854
- The original monumental ratio of 200 × 180 cm
- The asymmetry between dense leaves and the vast field of clear water
- The matte, pastel and laminate character of the surface
Work sheet
| Title | Water lilies W1854 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1916 - 1919 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 200 × 180 cm |
| Orientation | Vertical, almost square |
| Conservation | Beyeler Foundation, Riehen/Basel, Switzerland |
| Inventory | Inv.03.2 · Wildenstein 1854 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
This harmony of lavender blue, olive green and powder pink is suitable for a bright room where the painting can breathe. An off-white wall, light wood and natural textiles support the softness without competing with the large surface area of water.
