The oblique gaze animates a very simple pose
The head and eyes do not follow exactly the same direction. This slight gap gives the model an inner life without theatrical gestures or professional accessories.
Canvas reproduction
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Oil painting on rolled canvas, unframed. Custom size available on request.
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Artwork description
Claude Monet · Bordighera · March 1884 · W886
A bearded man in a dark jacket poses three-quarters in front of a blue-gray background covered with quick touches. Long referred to simply as an English painter, the model is today identified with Arthur Alfred Burrington, a British artist met by Monet at the English Pension in Bordighera. Signed and dated "Claude Monet/Bordighera March 84", this 52 × 41 cm oil on canvas is kept at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. It corresponds to Wildenstein 886.

Look at the work
The bust is cut below the shoulders and slightly off-center. The head turns to the left, but the eyes return to the viewer, creating a reserved and attentive presence. The anthracite jacket forms a large triangular mass; it lets the face, tawny beard and red signature concentrate the warm accents.
The background indicates neither workshop nor landscape. Vertical, oblique touches of blue, gray, cream and yellow surround the silhouette and keep the air moving. On the face, Monet juxtaposes pinks, greens and mauves; it does not smooth the skin, but constructs the expression with the same colorful vibration as in its landscapes.
In a letter dated November 26, 1908, Monet confirmed to Durand-Ruel that the portrait was indeed his: he remembered an English amateur painter staying in the same hotel, but then said he could no longer remember his name.
Composition, touch and light
Three precise elements allow us to understand this composition and the essential difficulties of faithful reproduction.
The head and eyes do not follow exactly the same direction. This slight gap gives the model an inner life without theatrical gestures or professional accessories.
Browns, warm grays and a few pink touches descend from the chin towards the jacket. The boundaries remain open, so the beard appears to vibrate rather than form a uniform mass.
His clear gestures follow the curve of the skull and shoulder in places, then move away from them. This proximity of the key prevents the portrait from freezing on a neutral background.
Reference image
The single image accurately represents Wildenstein 886. The best reliable file found measures 965 × 1260 px; it is kept at its native definition, without artificial enlargement, then encoded in real WebP.
The character of the portrait depends on this double movement to the left and towards the viewer. A frontal look or a straightened head would immediately modify the psychology of the pose.
Pale green, mauve and gray balance the roses on the face. Removing them in favor of a realistic beige would lose the impressionistic construction of light.
The red inscription follows the shoulder at the bottom right and mentions Bordighera as well as March 1884. It visually belongs to the warm balance of the painting, not just its documentation.
Documented benchmarks
The Monet exhibition catalog in full light documents the Portrait of an English Painter, Bordighera, oil on canvas from March 1884, 52 × 41 cm and Wildenstein catalog 886.
Recent research associates the face with this artist who later lived on the Riviera. Monet frequents him among the English-speaking painters housed, like him, at the English Pension.
He remained in the Burrington family until 1908. This origin explains the direct nature of the study, far removed from the usual order portraits and sales strategies.
The photograph sent to the painter causes his letter of authentication. The painting then entered the Tel Aviv Museum of Art thanks to a donation from Ms. Halpen.
Your reproduction
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
| Title | Portrait of an English painter, Bordighera W886 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | March 1884 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 52 × 41 cm |
| Orientation | Vertical |
| Conservation | Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel |
| Inventory | Gift of Mrs. Halpen · Wildenstein 886 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
This vertical portrait is suitable for a library, an office or a gallery wall mixing landscapes and figures. A warm gray, mist blue or muted green background and a narrow dark wooden frame highlight the beard and red inscription.
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