À propos de l’œuvre
Le Service à thé, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · Still life of 1872 · Dallas Museum of Art
The W244 tea sethand painted reproduction
Two cups, a small teapot and a pot of sage are placed on a white tablecloth around a red lacquered top. Monet transforms this domestic scene into a study of materials: blue porcelain, velvety leaves, shiny metal, pleated linen and colorful reflections.
Look at the work
An absent meal, told by its objects
The red tray occupies the right part and carries two full cups, their saucers and a stocky teapot. The blue patterns of porcelain are suggested by quick touches, precise enough to punctuate each piece without transforming the painting into a decorative inventory.
On the left, a sage overflows from a blue and white planter. Its large cold leaves respond to dishes, while the brown and gray background stabilizes the entire composition. An isolated spoon on the tablecloth leads the eye towards the tray and introduces a discreet metallic shine.
Still life is based on a conversation of surfaces: the smooth red of the tray, the pleated white of the tablecloth and the shiny porcelain respond to each other without ever becoming rigid.
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.
The tray as the chromatic center
Its vermilion red creates a large trapezoid which brings together the dishes and enlivens a palette dominated by whites, grays and browns. The dark reflections placed on its surface give it a lacquered depth.
Whites always colorful
Tablecloth, cups, saucers and teapot do not share the same white. Monet shades them of blue, lilac, cream and gray in order to separate materials and retain light.
The plant as a living mass
The sage leaves form an irregular volume that balances the geometry of the tray. Their soft edges and muted greens prevent the whole thing from appearing too orderly.
Reference image
Read this specific version
The reference from the Dallas Museum of Art photograph has been cropped onto the canvas. Its definition allows you to follow the porcelain patterns, the reflections of the red tray and the weft of the folds of the tablecloth.
A carefully balanced asymmetry
The plant occupies the left, the tray extends to the right and the small teapot forms the hinge between the two sets.
A different material for each object
Soft touches in the sheets, sharper highlights on the porcelain, horizontal slippages in the background and oblique brush strokes in the laundry.
Red as the main accent
The plateau is the only large warm and saturated area; it catches the eye without erasing the delicate bruises of the service.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
The Dallas Museum of Art notice and catalog raisonné identify this still life from 1872, now preserved under number 2019.67.12.McD.
A blue and white porcelain service
Monet combines two cups, a teapot, a decorated pot and a spoon with a red tray, favoring color and texture ratios.
The year of installation in Argenteuil
Painted in 1872, the work belongs to the moment when Monet resumed his work in France for a long time and renewed both the landscape and still life.
Dallas Museum of Art
The oil on canvas measures 53.3 × 72.7 cm and bears the references 2019.67.12.McD and Wildenstein 244.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- Differentiate the whites of the tablecloth, teapot, cups and saucers by varying temperatures.
- Maintain the exact shape of the red tray and its dark reflections without flattening its surface.
- Suggest blue porcelain designs with vivid precision, without mechanical contours.
- Return the volume of the sage leaves with greens, blues and cream highlights.
Work sheet
| Title | The W244 tea set |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1872 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 53.3 × 72.7 cm |
| Orientation | Horizontal |
| Conservation | Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas, United States |
| Inventory | 2019.67.12.McD · Wildenstein 244 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
This still life combines a deep red with bluish whites and sage greens. It brings a refined presence to a dining room, an elegant kitchen or a living room; a discreet walnut, matte black or gold frame goes particularly well with its palette.
