À propos de l’œuvre
Les Rochers à Pourville, marée basse, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · Pourville · 1882 · W767
Les Rochers in Pourville, low tide W767hand painted reproduction
At low tide, black rocks covered in algae cut through milky water where the waves break into long white touches. Painted in Pourville in 1882, this 64.3 × 78.7 cm oil on canvas is kept at the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester under number 39.22 and corresponds to Wildenstein 767.
Look at the work
The coast becomes an alternation of dark rocks and moving water
A powerful rock mass enters from the bottom right; other plateaus follow one another towards the distant shore. Tiny silhouettes of shell collectors establish the scale of the foreshore.
Black, brown, deep green and purple give weight to the rocks. The water is built by whites, blue grays and very light greens, under a cloudy sky crossed by pink.
Low tide does not calm the sea: on the contrary, it reveals the obstacles against which each wave falls into foam.
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.
An almost tactile foreground
The large straight rock is cut by the frame and shows thick material. This proximity places the viewer in the middle of the foreshore rather than in front of a distant panorama.
Figures that measure the coast
Shell collectors are reduced to a few dark accents. Their presence makes the extent of the open shore sensitive.
A reworked surface
Information from the museum indicates that Monet conducted his studies on the motif and then took them back to the workshop. The visible superpositions reinforce the tumult of the water.
Reference image
Read this specific version
Only one exact image of W767 is used. The real WebP of 2780 × 2100 px isolates the painted surface from a high definition photograph taken at the museum, without artificial enlargement.
Preserve the weight of the right rock
Its dark mass must remain dominant. Lightening it evenly would weaken the contrast that organizes the entire scene.
Store water in colored whites
The waves mix gray, blue, green and warm touches. A continuous pure white would transform them into artificial foam.
Keep silhouettes tiny
They are essential but should not become anecdotal. Their simplicity maintains scale without looking away.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
The Memorial Art Gallery preserves Les Rochers à Pourville, low tide, oil on canvas from 1882, 64.3 × 78.7 cm, inventory 39.22 and Wildenstein 767.
The foreshore east of Pourville
Monet places himself far away on the beach to contrast the distant cliffs with the fragmented shapes of the rocks in the foreground.
Residents collect shells
The small figures are not decorative: they bear witness to the uses of the shore at low tide and give a measure to the landscape.
Gift of Emily Sibley Watson
The work is kept in Rochester under number 39.22, in the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- The Wildenstein 767 version
- The large black rock in the foreground
- Shell collectors
- White and green foam between the trays
Work sheet
| Title | Les Rochers in Pourville, low tide W767 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1882 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 64.3 × 78.7 cm |
| Orientation | Horizontal |
| Conservation | Memorial Art Gallery, University of Rochester, Rochester, United States |
| Inventory | 39.22 · Wildenstein 767 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
This powerful navy is suitable for a living room, dining room or office. A warm gray, slate blue or deep green wall and a dark setting amplify its relief.
