À propos de l’œuvre
La Cathédrale de Rouen, le Portail, Brouillard matinal, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · 1894 · Museum Folkwang · W1352
Rouen Cathedral, morning fog W1352hand painted reproduction
The facade of Notre-Dame de Rouen appears in a blue mist which absorbs the Gothic reliefs. The central portal, the pinnacles and the large bay remain perceptible, but no outline remains fixed. Monet makes the monument a screen of cold light, observed at a time when the morning has not yet dissipated the fog.
Look at the work
An almost immaterial cathedral in the morning mist
The vertical framing cuts the towers and brings the viewer closer to the facade. The central portal forms the main shadow area, while the arcatures and sculptures are only suggested by variations of blue, lilac and cream.
The square and side constructions blend into the same atmosphere as the stone. Below, the signature and date 94 remain legible; above, the light material is superimposed in short touches, as if the fog were deposited directly on the painted surface.
W1352 does not show the cathedral behind the fog: it shows the stone transformed by the fog.
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 version kept in Essen
The Museum Folkwang keeps this painting dated 1894. The notice indicates a format of 101 × 66 cm; the Wildenstein catalog identifies it under number 1352.
A stable pattern subject to time
In Rouen, Monet changes canvas when the light evolves. The repetition of the same portal allows us to compare not the architecture itself, but the successive effects of sun, shadow and humidity.
The key replaces the drawing
The blue, pink and gray impastos reconstruct the facade from a distance. Up close, they dissolve the statues and moldings, giving the painting a vibration that the painted reproduction must preserve.
Reference image
Read this specific version
Only one image is used: the full view of W1352, converted into a real WebP of 1,412 × 2,200 px, without artificial enlargement.
The central portal as a dark core
The large opening maintains the axis of the facade. Around it, the light parts must remain discontinuous so as not to transform the cathedral into a clear silhouette.
Periwinkle blue, lilac, gray and cream
The palette is very tight. The temperature differences between cold blue, gray pink and cream are enough to make the volumes appear under the fog.
A thick material but without hardness
Brushstrokes are visible and sometimes superimposed. They must retain flexible edges: the material evokes stone without removing the atmospheric envelope.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
This 1894 version measures 101 × 66 cm, belongs to the Museum Folkwang in Essen and corresponds to Wildenstein number 1352.
The Portal, morning fog
The canvas is signed and dated 1894 at the bottom left. Its vertical format of 101 × 66 cm focuses the eye on the portal and the central floors of the facade.
Museum Folkwang, Essen
The painting belongs to the Museum Folkwang. It entered the collection in 1970 with the support of the city of Essen and museum partners.
The Cathedrals of Rouen
Monet worked on the motif in 1892 and 1893 then took up the paintings in Giverny. The series was shown by Durand-Ruel in 1895, revealing the metamorphoses of the same facade.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- The exact version from Museum Folkwang, Wildenstein 1352
- The original vertical format of 101 × 66 cm
- The portal preserved darker than the surrounding facade
- The melted lilac and cream blue passages without harsh architectural contours
Work sheet
| Title | Rouen Cathedral, morning fog W1352 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1894 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 101 × 66 cm |
| Orientation | Vertical |
| Conservation | Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany |
| Inventory | Wildenstein 1352 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
This periwinkle blue harmony brings silent light to an office, entrance or library. It goes well with smoked wood, off-white walls, mineral gray and a sober frame.
