À propos de l’œuvre
Nymphéas avec rameaux de saule, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · 1916 -1919 · Giverny · MDIG D 2021.1.1
Water lilies with willow branches, Giverny W1851hand painted reproduction
Long black branches descend from the upper edge and pass through intense blue water. Water lilies do not form a regular carpet: a few large leaves group together at the bottom, then a lighter curve extends to the right. At 160 × 180 cm, the canvas extends beyond the field with a simple garden view and invites the eye to move without horizon or bank.
Look at the work
The suspended branches give a vertical rhythm to water without a horizon
The top is closed by a dark plant mass, but the branches do not fall like a uniform curtain. Some are short and thick, others extend to the lower edge. Their blacks contain brown, olive green and blue. Between them, large cobalt areas remain visible and make water the true luminous background of the composition.
The bottom leaves are broad, gray green and almost opaque. Further to the right, they become small, spaced and yellow-green. This progression draws a gentle curve from left to right, exactly that highlighted in the museum notice. The orange signature of the lower right edge constitutes one of the rare warm accents in a whole dominated by blue and dark green.
The branches do not frame the pool: they pass through its surface and force the eye to continually pass from the tree to its reflection.
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 blue that is never flat
Cobalt, ultramarine, purple and blue-gray overlap between the branches. These differences must remain visible to give the water its luminous depth.
Multi-speed branches
The branches change length, thickness and inclination. Their irregularity creates movement; repeating them as a decorative motif would freeze the canvas.
A very open curve of water lilies
The large leaves at the bottom extend into a few smaller discs on the right. This discreet passage constructs the horizontal space in the middle of the verticals.
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.
Public digitization measures 2,967 × 2,643 px. Native details measure 1,300 × 1,700 px and 1,400 × 1,700 px. No files have been artificially enlarged; all three media are true 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.
MDIG D 2021.1.1, Wildenstein 1851
The work is an oil on canvas of 160 × 180 cm dated 1916 -1919. It belongs to the Claude-Monet high school in Paris and is deposited at the Giverny impressionism museum under number MDIG D 2021.1.1.
Remained in the workshop then offered by Michel Monet
The painting was still in the workshop when Claude Monet died. His son Michel offered it to the Claude-Monet high school; the establishment deposited it at the Giverny impressionism museum in 2021 so that it could be presented to the public.
Diffuse attention across the entire surface
The museum's notice emphasizes the loss of traditional landmarks: no horizon, no bank and no vanishing point dominate. The branches brush against the water, the water lilies form a curve and the air seems to merge with the pool.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- The exact Wildenstein 1851 version deposited in Giverny
- The original format of 160 × 180 cm
- The variety of length and thickness of the hanging branches
- The curve of the leaves kept light in the right half
Work sheet
| Title | Water lilies with willow branches, Giverny W1851 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1916 - 1919 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 160 × 180 cm |
| Orientation | Almost square |
| Conservation | Giverny Museum of Impressionism, Giverny, France |
| Inventory | MDIG D 2021.1.1 · Wildenstein 1851 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
Cobalt blue, olive green, bluish black, moss yellow and discreet orange give this reproduction an almost contemporary strength. Its loose format is suitable for a clear wall, accompanied by dark wood, light stone and soft side light.
