The Art Institute of Chicago

Water Lilies

Oil on canvasClaude Monet (French, 1840–1926)/1906

Description

Little did Claude Monet know that the water garden he created three years after buying his Giverny, France, property in 1890 would become his primary inspiration over the next two and a half decades. These paintings, numbering around 250, mark Monet’s artistic journey from more straightforward depictions of the pond spanned by the wooden Japanese bridge to the monumental and near-abstract series on the water lily theme he made in preparation for his murals at the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris between 1914 and 1926. Water Lilies, one of a group of paintings on the subject made between 1903 and 1908, comes at the midpoint of Monet’s developing style and spatial experimentations. The nearly square format underscores his move away from painting the conventional zones of land, sky, and water to focus solely on the water’s surface. Clusters of water lilies at bottom left and top right frame a watery path, while the water’s surface reflects trees and clouds. Although the dreamlike quality of floating forms might seem to be a natural development for the artist, he considered these works “an obsession,” a sentiment borne out by technical examinations on the Art Institute’s canvas, revealing many significant changes made to the painting in progress.

Provenance

The artist (d. 1926); sold to Durand-Ruel, Paris (3/4 interest), and Bernheim-Jeune, Paris (1/4 interest), June 3, 1909, for 14,000 francs [this and the following per Durand-Ruel, Paris, stock book for 1901–13 (no. 9082, as Les nymphéas, paysage d’eau, série de 1906), as confirmed by Paul-Louis Durand-Ruel and Flavie Durand-Ruel, Durand-Ruel Archives, to the Art Institute of Chicago, Feb. 21, 2013, curatorial object file]; sold to Henri Bernstein, Paris, May 29, 1909, for 20,000 francs [see previous: the Durand-Ruel Archives notes that “the apparent chronological anomaly between the dates of the purchase and of the sale is not unusual”]; sold to Durand-Ruel, Paris, Aug. 9, 1909, for 20,000 francs [per Durand-Ruel, Paris, stock book for 1901–13 (no. 9134, as Les nymphéas, paysage d’eau, série de 1906), as confirmed by Paul-Louis Durand-Ruel and Flavie Durand-Ruel, Durand-Ruel Archives, to the Art Institute of Chicago, Feb. 21, 2013, curatorial object file]; on deposit to Durand-Ruel, New York, Apr. 1911 [per Durand-Ruel, New York, deposit book for 1894–1925 (no. 7606, as Les nymphéas, paysage d’eau, série de 1906), as confirmed by Paul-Louis Durand-Ruel and Flavie Durand-Ruel, Durand-Ruel Archives, to the Art Institute of Chicago, Feb. 21, 2013, curatorial object file]; sold to Durand-Ruel, New York, Feb. 10, 1914 [this and the following per Durand-Ruel, New York, stock book for 1904–24 (no. 3768, as Les nymphéas, paysage d’eau, série de 1906), as confirmed by Paul-Louis Durand-Ruel and Flavie Durand-Ruel, Durand-Ruel Archives, to the Art Institute of Chicago, Feb. 21, 2013, curatorial object file]; sold to Martin A. Sold by Durand-Ruel, New York, to Martin A. Ryerson (d. 1932), Chicago, Feb. 10, 1914, for $5,000 [see previous; also a purchase receipt on Durand-Ruel letterhead, dated February 10, 1914, details that this painting (no. 3768, Monet, Les nymphéas, paysage d’eau, 1906) was acquired by M. A. Ryerson, in addition to two other paintings (no. 3668, Monet, La cabane de douaniers, 1897 (cat. 35); and no. 3646, Monet, Waterloo Bridge, London,1903) (cat. 39) for $20,000, photocopy in curatorial object file]; bequeathed to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1933.

Dimensions

89.9 × 94.1 cm (35 3/8 × 37 1/16 in.)

Source

The Art Institute of Chicago

Movement / Period

Impressionism

Accession No

16568

Official Citations

[The Art Institute of Chicago Official Record][Full Resolution Image]

Curatorial Affinity Stream

Continuing the Universe of Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926)

Impressionism • France • Harmonious Works & Contemporaries

Continuous Discovery