À propos de l’œuvre
Le Cliff et la Porte d'Aval, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · Étretat · 1885 · W1018
The Cliff and the Downstream Gate W1018hand painted reproduction
From the top of the Aval cliff, Monet follows the shore which curves from the left foreground to the large natural arch. The rock, dark and streaked with greens, blues and roses, plunges into a lighter sea where a pink touch marks the opening of the Aval Gate. Signed and dated 1885, this oil on canvas measuring 65 × 81 cm is kept at the Museum Barberini under the number MB-Mon-21 and corresponds to Wildenstein 1018.
Look at the work
The gaze descends along the cliff before reaching the arch and the sea
The viewpoint is placed very high, about seventy-five meters above the water. The nearby slope enters from the lower left edge, then the large rocky section occupies the center; the opening of the Porte d'Aval is therefore almost at the end of a visual route rather than in the middle of the painting.
The cliff receives no uniform outline. Touches of turquoise, purple, brown and pink follow its layers and hollows, while the upper plateau captures warmer light. On the right, the sky and sea use pale values that push the dark coast toward the foreground.
Monet waits for the sun to cross the arch: a small pink area in the opening and its echo on the water are enough to make the Downstream Gate the luminous focus of a monumental rock mass.
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 bird's eye view that stretches the coast
The composition does not present the cliff from the front. It accompanies its edge from the nearby promontory to the arch, creating a curved movement which leads the gaze towards the depth.
A rock built in superimposed touches
Blues, greens, muted reds and grays intersect on the wall. This colored material reflects strata, shadows and irregularities without resorting to a detailed geological drawing.
The pink light at the heart of the ark
The warm accent is tiny but strategic. It separates the opening from the rock, reflects vertically into the water and balances the orange tones of the left foreground.
Reference image
Read this specific version
The only official image from Museum Barberini is kept at 3,000 × 2,399 px then encoded as a real WebP, without enlargement beyond the source provided.
Preserve the large central volume of the cliff
The rock must remain dominant and cut off part of the sea. Artificially widening it towards the sky or reducing its mass would weaken the dizzying character of W1018.
Preserve the greens and purples of the wall
Cliff is neither gray nor brown uniformly. Its cool colors keep sunny areas and pink accent bright.
Keep the arch small but perfectly readable
The Porte d'Aval is located at the end of the promontory. Its opening and the clear net which crosses it must remain without being exaggerated.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
The Museum Barberini documents The Cliff and the Downstream Gate, oil on canvas from 1885, 65 × 81 cm, inventory MB-Mon-21 and Wildenstein 1018.
Nine views of the Porte d'Aval in 1885
During his new stay in Étretat, Monet took up this motif from several distances and in different lights. W1018 belongs to this methodical group.
The top of the cliff, facing southwest
The high framing allows you to follow the edge of the board and see the light penetrate the arch before reflecting off the water.
Hasso Plattner Collection
Purchased directly from Monet by singer Jean-Baptiste Faure in 1886, the work entered the current collection in 2010 and bears the number MB-Mon-21.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- The Wildenstein 1018 version
- The very high point of view
- The central mass of the cliff
- Pink accent visible in the arch
Work sheet
| Title | The Cliff and the Downstream Gate W1018 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1885 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 65 × 81 cm |
| Orientation | Horizontal |
| Conservation | Museum Barberini, Potsdam, Germany |
| Inventory | MB-Mon-21 · Wildenstein 1018 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
This horizontal landscape is suitable for a living room, dining room or office. A blue gray, deep green or light terracotta wall and a dark brown frame extend the contrast between rock and sea horizon.
