À propos de l’œuvre
La Seine à Bougival, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · The Seine at dusk in 1869 · Smith College Museum of Art
The Seine at Bougival, evening W151hand painted reproduction
A pink, gray and yellow sky is reflected in the Seine, bordered on the right by a large dark tree and a grassy bank. White houses, a few figures and a boat enliven the opposite bank. Monet gives the evening an almost theatrical scale while retaining the simplicity of an observed landscape.
Look at the work
The sky and its reflection frame a shore that is still active
The setting sun is almost hidden by clouds, but its orange and pink light diffuses throughout the left half. The same range descends into the water in the form of horizontal touches. Light houses and walkers establish a thin transition line.
On the right, a very dark tree fills the upper corner and extends into a green bank. This mass closes the picture and accentuates the luminous opening of the Seine. A low boat and a few stakes give the river its scale.
The evening light does not only come from the sky: it crosses the painting repeating itself in the water between two dark banks.
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 large counterweight on the right
The tree and the bank form a single deep mass. Their visual weight makes the sky and left reflections brighter.
A low but very articulated horizon
Houses, trees, boats and small figures follow one another in short signs. This precise strip separates the two vast areas of sky and water.
Warm colors in grays
The clouds mix mauve, blue, cream and pink. Keeping them together avoids transforming dusk into a simple orange sunset.
Reference image
Read this specific version
The unique reference corresponds to inventory SC 1946.4 of the Smith College Museum of Art, Wildenstein version 151. The best exact file available for this sheet measures 900 × 748 px; it has not been enlarged and has been encoded in WebP.
The sun remains a tiny accent
Its intense orange catches the eye without dominating the scene. It must remain partially drowned in clouds.
The reflections follow the width of the river
The pink and gray touches stretch horizontally and break near the boat, stakes and shore.
The signature belongs to the lower right corner
The painting is signed in orange-red. This inscription must remain discreet and not compete with the accents of the sky.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
This oil on canvas measuring 60 × 73.5 cm, painted in 1869, is kept at the Smith College Museum of Art under the inventory SC 1946.4 and classified Wildenstein 151.
The evening version
The full identification distinguishes this painting from other Bougival landscapes painted by Monet during the same period. Wildenstein number 151 precisely fixes the reproduced version.
An orange-red signature
The work is not dated on the canvas, but bears the Claude Monet signature painted in an orange-red tone at the bottom right.
Bougival before the impressionist series
In 1869, Monet explored the banks of the Seine west of Paris. The attention paid to reflections, changes in the sky and the life of the banks announces the research he will continue in Argenteuil.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- Preserve the weight of the large tree and the right bank.
- Maintain continuity between the roses of the sky and those of the water.
- Keep the sun small and partially cloudy.
- Keep houses, figures and boats in the form of concise signs.
Work sheet
| Title | The Seine at Bougival, evening W151 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1869 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 60 × 73.5 cm |
| Orientation | Horizontal |
| Conservation | Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, United States |
| Inventory | SC 1946.4 · Wildenstein 151 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
Its gray roses, deep greens and ample sky are suitable for a living room, bedroom or dining room. A walnut, dark green or patinated gold frame accompanies dusk without cooling the palette.
