À propos de l’œuvre
Le Pont d'Argenteuil, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · Road bridge, sailboats and regatta basin · National Gallery of Art
The Argenteuil Bridge W312hand painted reproduction
The Argenteuil road bridge advances diagonally from the right bank and aligns four clear arches above the Seine. A white sailboat, a boat without sail and an occupied boat animate the blue water. Monet precisely distributes masts, reflections, trees and buildings, then dissolves this construction into a luminous mosaic of blue, pink, green and yellow.
Look at the work
The bridge, masts and sails make up a landscape of modern calm
The bank of Petit-Gennevilliers appears in the foreground with a hint of green grass at the bottom right. Two masts rise from the lower part, one of which belongs to a nearby empty hull. Further on, a large white sail captures the light and a boat with two figures, including a pink parasol, crosses the basin.
The bridge joins a narrow building in coral and gray tones, followed by a white house and dense trees. Its arches are shaped by denim blue shadows. In the water, reflections take the form of parallel dashes pale pink, white, caramel, sage green and light blue.
From a distance, the scene appears calm and continuous; up close, the bridge, the water and the figures come undone in independent colored touches.
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 diagonal measured facing the vertical masts
The bridge descends from the upper right corner towards the center, while the masts ascend from the bottom. The intersection of these directions organizes the space without centering the subject.
A touch adapted to each material
The trees receive thick, short touches, the water of fluid, parallel marks, the bridge of more continuous planes. This diversity makes the pattern readable despite the absence of precise contours.
Leisure in a transformed landscape
Sailboats, promenade and road bridge show Argenteuil as a place of relaxation accessible from Paris. Monet does not hide the infrastructure: he integrates it with the luminous beauty of the basin.
Reference image
Read this specific version
The visual corresponds to the Pont d'Argenteuil, inventory 1983.1.24 of the National Gallery of Art and Wildenstein number 312. The official digitization has been converted into a real WebP of 3,000 × 2,250 px.
The four arches keep blue shadows
They are neither gray nor black uniformly. The blue, mauve and cream variations give the volume of the stone under the light.
The pink umbrella remains a tiny touch
It identifies the figure in the boat without becoming too strong a decorative point. Its pink repeats discreetly in the reflections of the river.
The dashes of water vary in length
They follow a general horizontal orientation but cross and interrupt around the hulls. This irregularity retains the lapping and depth.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
Painted in 1874, this oil on canvas measures 60 × 79.7 cm. It is kept at the National Gallery of Art under the 1983.1.24 inventory and listed as Wildenstein 312.
From the bank of Petit-Gennevilliers
Monet looks north, towards the Argenteuil promenade. The nearby bank and masts place the viewer at the edge of the regatta pool, facing the bridge and the town.
One of the views of the road bridge in 1874
Monet takes the bridge from several angles and light conditions. This version is distinguished by its clear sky, its sailboats arranged with restraint and the large diagonal which releases the water on the left.
Paul Mellon's gift in 1983
After passing through Durand-Ruel and several French collections, the painting was acquired for Paul Mellon in 1961. She entered the National Gallery of Art through her donation in 1983.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- Respect the precise diagonal of the bridge and the number of visible arches.
- Maintain the sailboats and the boat at their respective scales.
- Color the shadows of the stone blue and purple.
- Distribute the reflections in irregular and luminous dashes.
Work sheet
| Title | The Argenteuil Bridge W312 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1874 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 60 × 79.7 cm |
| Orientation | Horizontal |
| Conservation | National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, United States |
| Inventory | 1983.1.24 · Wildenstein 312 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
This iconic view is suitable for a living room, dining room or office. A blond oak, gray blue or off-white frame accompanies the light; a linen, sea green or pearl gray wall highlights the arches.
