À propos de l’œuvre
La piscine de l'eau, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · 1900 · Chicago · W1628
The Water Lily Basin, Chicago W1628hand painted reproduction
A green Japanese bridge crosses thick vegetation, then its arch opens onto a pool covered with pink and white water lilies. In this version painted in 1900, Monet gives the Giverny garden an intense depth: the branches descend, the reflections rise and the surface of the water becomes a network of turquoise, red and purple touches.
Look at the work
The bridge closes the top of the canvas while the water lilies open the depth of the pool
The bridge occupies the upper third and forms a dark curve, slightly off-center to the left. Its railing is painted superimposed greens, blues and reds. The foliage behind it remains more vertical, while the touches of the pool stretch horizontally and give a clear direction to the water.
In the foreground, the blue-green leaves are divided into irregular groups. Pink, white and pale yellow flowers punctuate the surface without forming a decorative pattern. Red and turquoise reflections pass between them and connect the pool to the willows which descend along the sides.
The bridge is not only a recognizable subject: its curve gives a stable measure to a garden where everything else is transformed into color and 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 dark arch without uniform outline
The railing brings together blue, green, purple and red covers. Painting it as a continuous green line would cause the foliage to lose its integration.
A pool built in colored bands
Turquoise, pink, green and earth-red intersect in the water. The keys should remain directional and never become a flat gloss or smooth mirror.
Water lilies distributed by densities
The leaves are more numerous in the center and at the bottom, but their spacing varies. This irregularity maintains depth and avoids the effect of mechanical sowing.
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.
The reference view measures 3,000 × 2,657 px. Details of 1,600 × 1,500 px and 1,600 × 1,400 px are native cropping of the Art Institute of Chicago open file. No enlargements were applied; all three files are real 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.
Chicago 1933.441, Wildenstein 1628
The Art Institute dates this oil on canvas to 1900. It measures 89.8 × 101 cm, or 112.4 × 122.6 × 10.2 cm with its frame, and bears the inscription Claude Monet at the top left./1900.
One of eighteen versions from 1899 -1900
The museum links this painting to a group of eighteen similar compositions. Monet associates the Japanese bridge, the water lilies and the reflections of the vegetation in an almost square framing.
A pattern created from 1893
Three years after purchasing his property, Monet transformed the marshy land behind his house, created the pond and built a Japanese-inspired wooden bridge which would become a central subject of his work.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- The exact version of Chicago, 1933.441 and W1628
- The original almost square ratio of 89.8 × 101 cm
- The bridge kept dark but rich in color
- The turquoise and red reflections preserved between the water lilies
Work sheet
| Title | The Water Lily Basin, Chicago W1628 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1900 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 89.8 × 101 cm |
| Orientation | Almost square |
| Conservation | Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, United States |
| Inventory | 1933.441 · Wildenstein 1628 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
Deep green, turquoise, old pink and earth red give this reproduction an enveloping presence. The almost square format is easily installed in a living room, entrance or library with dark wood, brass and cream or felted green walls.
