“Water Lilly Pond”
The Water-Lily Pond (1899) by Claude Monet
It wasn't actually a painting that Monet deemed his ‘greatest work of art’ but the beautiful gardens he created at his home in Giverny. In his later years, it became his sole subject.
The bridge, which Monet designed himself, shows the influence of Japanese art on his work. This is one of 18 canvases of this view in differing light conditions that Monet started in the summer of 1899, the same year he started painting Waterloo and Charing Cross bridges.
The late afternoon sun casts a shaft of light over the bridge, illuminating the right-hand side in pale green in contrast to the prevailing darker blue-green.
Monet’s water lilies were a hybrid breed in pink and yellow as well as white
The undersides of the water lilies were dark red, the same colour in which Monet signed the painting. Red is on the other side of the colour wheel to the green that dominates the painting; this contrast was in keeping with Monet's interest in complementary colours.
- Edition: 928/980 Brushstrokes by the Museum Company
- Subject Matter: Landscape
- Created: 1996
- Inventory Number: 1145 Von Schmidt Family Trust
- Collections: Von Schmidt Family Trust Collectable Paintings and Art 1000