À propos de l’œuvre
Le Palais Ducal vu de Saint-Georges Majeur, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · 1908 · Kunsthaus Zürich 1995/0004 · W1751
The Ducal Palace, Kunsthaus Zürich W1751hand painted reproduction
From the island of San Giorgio Maggiore, Monet looks beyond the St. Mark's Basin towards the Doge's Palace, the campanile and the Riva degli Schiavoni. The architecture seems to float in a light of pink, yellow and pale blue. A long purple swell occupies the foreground; behind it, the facades lose their contours and become a strip of light suspended between the water and the sky.
Look at the work
Venice dissolves in pearly light, while a blue wave sets up the viewpoint
The Doge's Palace is slightly to the left of the center. Its rectangular volume is simplified, but the openings and rhythm of the facade remain perceptible. On the left, the campanile under reconstruction rises like a pink vertical touch; on the right, the quays stretch towards the edge.
Water takes up more than half of the canvas. Monet superimposes small touches of pink, green and purple, then places a much darker wave in the foreground. This blue mass brings the viewer closer to the surface of the pool and accentuates the distance to the palace.
The monument remains recognizable, but Monet first makes it a phenomenon of light placed on the water.
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 view from San Giorgio Maggiore
The composition looks at the Ducal Palace on the other side of the Saint-Marc basin. This retreat allows us to embrace the palace, the campanile and the quays in a single urban strip, without street perspective.
Six variations of the same framing
The Kunsthaus links this painting to a group of six very similar compositions, cataloged W1751 to W1756. The Zurich version can be recognized by its clear range and the large blue-purple wave which crosses the foreground.
A job completed after the stay
Monet painted in Venice in the fall of 1908, then brought his paintings back to Giverny. He took them back before the 1912 exhibition. The superimposed layers thus preserve the memory of direct observation and long workshop work.
Reference image
Read this specific version
The single reference image measures 2,587 × 1,644 px. It corresponds to the 1995/0004 canvas from Kunsthaus Zürich and was encoded as a real WebP to its native definition, without artificial enlargement.
Architecture reduced to a band
Monuments do not dominate the canvas in their height. They form a clear midline between two atmospheric expanses. Maintaining this proportion is essential to avoid too descriptive a view.
Powder pink, pale yellow and purple blue
The warm colors of the facade return to the water, then are cooled by the purples. The sky contains very light greens and blue grays which prevent the pink from becoming decorative.
Horizontal keys of different sizes
Short, tight gestures liven up the background. In the foreground, brushstrokes become wider and darker. This change in scale produces the depth of the pelvis.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
This information concerns the version of the Kunsthaus Zürich, inventory 1995/0004 and Wildenstein 1751.
Kunsthaus Zürich 1995/0004, W1751
This oil on canvas signed and dated 1908 measures 65 × 100 cm. It entered the Kunsthaus Zürich in 1995 thanks to a donation from Walter Haefner, after having been deposited there since 1974.
Monet's only trip to the city
At sixty-eight, Monet stayed in Venice from September to December 1908. He worked from several fixed points and transformed palaces, churches and canals into series based on variations of light.
The campanile is then under reconstruction
The bell tower of Saint-Marc collapsed in 1902. In this view, its construction site is visible beyond the Ducal Palace; Monet integrates it as a colored vertical instead of detailing its structure.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- The Zurich version 1995/0004, Wildenstein catalog 1751
- The original ratio of 65 × 100 cm
- The blue-purple wave kept in the foreground
- The pinks, pale greens and yellows kept bright without whitening the facade
Work sheet
| Title | The Ducal Palace, Kunsthaus Zürich W1751 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1908 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 65 × 100 cm |
| Orientation | Horizontal |
| Conservation | Kunsthaus Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland |
| Inventory | 1995/0004 · Wildenstein 1751 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
Pearly pink, purple blue, sea green, pale yellow and pearl gray give this reproduction a refined light. Its horizontal format is naturally placed above a sofa or sideboard, with light materials and soft side light.
