À propos de l’œuvre
Vétheuil, par Claude Monet
Claude Monet · 1901 · Chicago · Wildenstein 1645
Vétheuil, evening effecthand painted reproduction
Vétheuil is concentrated in a pink and orange glow which sets the church, the roofs and their reflections ablaze. The blue hill closes the horizon, while the Seine opens in the foreground a vast interval of mauve and sea green.
Look at the work
The evening light descends from the village into the river
Notre-Dame Church dominates the bank without a firm outline. Its pinkish yellow facade, its purple roof and the neighboring houses are built in short touches, separated by the light preparation. On the right, the cream facades tighten under a hill made of long purple and blue bands.
The bank acts as a very thin hinge. Below, the warm colors extend vertically into the Seine, then fragment on contact with green-gray passages. The foreground remains colder and more open, which prevents reflections from becoming a symmetrical repetition of the village.
In this version, the sunset is not represented by the sun: it can be recognized by the warmth of the walls and the colorful length of their reflections.
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 church made of light rather than stone
The yellows, pinks and purples should remain separated by small breaths. A dark outline would give the monument a solidity foreign to this evening effect.
A cold hill behind the warm roofs
The mauves and blues of the background reinforce the oranges of the village. This temperature contrast clearly distinguishes the W1645 version.
Vertical reflections that don't go all the way to the edge
Pink and orange descents stop in colder water. Their length and fragmentation must be preserved together.
Details and visual documents
Observe the material and the exact version
The additional images show the difficult-to-read passages in the full view and, where it exists, the actual appearance of the work at the museum.
The official view measures 3000 × 2911 px. The details of 2300 × 1050 px and 2300 × 1100 px are direct cropping. No files have been enlarged; all three images are real WebPs.
Documented benchmarks
Three pieces of information specific to this work
These facts concern this precise version and are verified from the notice of the institution which keeps it.
Inventory 1933.1161, Wildenstein catalog 1645
This 90 × 93 cm oil on canvas is signed and dated "Claude Monet 1901" lower left, in pale pink. It belongs to Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection.
One of fifteen views painted from Lavacourt
In 1901, Monet took up the same framing of Vétheuil from the opposite bank of the Seine. The variations relate to the luminous envelope, the density of the village and the rhythm of its reflections.
Open keys on clear preparation
The weft of the canvas and the preparation remain visible between numerous keys. This opening contributes to the light and must be respected in a hand-painted reproduction.
Your reproduction
What the painter must preserve
Fidelity here depends on precise relationships between light, touch, depth and color temperature.
- The exact version 1933.1161, Wildenstein 1645
- The pale pink signature at the bottom left
- The opposition between cold hill and warm village
- Reflections interrupted before the foreground
Work sheet
| Title | Vétheuil, evening effect |
|---|---|
| Artist | Claude Monet (1840 -1926) |
| Date | 1901 |
| Original technique | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 90 × 93 cm |
| Orientation | Almost square |
| Conservation | Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, United States |
| Inventory | 1933.1161 · Wildenstein 1645 |
| Your reproduction | Handmade oil painting on canvas |
Presentation in your interior
A palette designed with the room
Powder roses, mauves and water greens give this reproduction a gentle warmth without heaviness. The almost square format matches the ivory, light clay, pearl gray or sage green walls.
