À propos de l’œuvre
Le Chêne de Bodmer, la route de Chailly, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · Grand oak du Bas-Bréau in Fontainebleau · Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Bodmer Oak, Fontainebleau forest W60hand painted reproduction
In the forest of Fontainebleau, the Bodmer Oak extends its gnarled branches above a ground covered with ferns and leaves. The Chailly road can be seen between the trunks, but the real subject is the tree: a living architecture from which each bifurcation receives greens, blues, grays and browns. Monet unites the power of the pattern with filtered light of astonishing mobility.
Look at the work
A monumental tree structures the entire depth of the forest
The main trunk rises in the right half before dividing into heavy branches which cross the top of the canvas. This antler forms an irregular vault and provides several openings towards the sky. On the left, thinner trunks spread out in depth and accompany the clear passage which sinks towards Chailly.
On the ground, red ferns and dry leaves form a warm foreground. The foliage nevertheless retains strong greens, punctuated with luminous yellows. On the bark, Monet juxtaposes cold and warm tones: the oak remains massive without becoming a black silhouette, and light seems to circulate on its rugged surface.
The grandeur of the oak comes as much from its proportions as from the luminous gaps made between its branches: the entire space is constructed by its branches.
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 frame made of bifurcations
The trunk does not lead the gaze along a simple vertical. It divides, tilts and returns towards the center; each branch opens or closes a portion of landscape and transforms the tree into a real framework of the composition.
A first warm shot under cool cover
The browns, ochres and reds of the carpet of leaves oppose the greens and bluish grays of the heights. This temperature difference naturally separates the ground, trunk and distances without resorting to hard contours.
The depth behind the giant
The road, pale trunks and small areas of sky prevent the tree from flattening the scene. Their decreasing scale places the oak in the foreground while retaining the silent expanse of Bas-Bréau.
Reference image
Read this specific version
The visual shows exactly Bodmer's Oak from 1865, inventory 64.210 and Wildenstein number 60. The WebP file from 1849 × 1357 px presents the painting alone, without frame, in its native definition.
The large upper branch must retain all its breaks
Its path is neither smooth nor symmetrical. Angle changes give the age and weight of the oak; they must be laid before the small leaves to maintain a convincing structure.
The trunk combines gray, green and brown
Cold passages illuminate certain faces while deep browns mark the hollows. This variety avoids a uniformly dark trunk and restores the humid light of the forest.
The ferns remain mixed with the ground
They appear in red and green masses, without systematic botanical drawing. Their shorter touch should let the paths and areas of earth in the foreground breathe.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
This oil on canvas from 1865 measures 96.2 × 129.2 cm. It is kept at the Metropolitan Museum of Art under inventory 64.210 and listed as Wildenstein 60.
The oak named after Karl Bodmer
This famous tree from the Fontainebleau forest bears the name of the Swiss painter Karl Bodmer, who presented a representation of it at the Salon of 1850. Monet is thus part of a long artistic frequentation of Bas-Bréau.
An execution probably completed in October
The Metropolitan Museum brings red, yellow and green foliage closer to the end of Monet's stay in Fontainebleau, probably in October 1865. The palette records the transition from summer to autumn.
A study related to the great Luncheon on the Grass
The canvas is considered the latest of the forestry studies associated with the monumental Luncheon on the Grass project. The oak scale and the clearing explain the decorative ambition of this research.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- Precisely establish the trunk and its main bifurcations.
- Preserve the gaps in the sky and the clear passage towards Chailly.
- Nuance the bark with both cold and warm tones.
- Keep red ferns irregular and mixed with greens.
Work sheet
| Title | The Bodmer Oak, Fontainebleau forest W60 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1865 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 96.2 × 129.2 cm |
| Orientation | Monumental horizontal |
| Conservation | Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States |
| Inventory | 64.210 · Wildenstein 60 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
This large forest is suitable for a living room, library or dining room. A walnut, dark bronze or smoked oak frame accompanies the trunk; a linen, olive green or mineral beige wall brings out the luminous gaps.
