Artwork
Water Lilies
Water Lilies is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Claude Monet. It dates from 1915 and is held in the collection of the Musée Marmottan Monet.
About this work
Overview
Claude Monet’s 1915 oil painting titled Water Lilies presents a tranquil pond scene. Executed in the later phase of his career, the work captures the surface of a garden pond populated by floating lilies. The composition is held in the Musée Marmottan Monet, where it forms part of the museum’s extensive collection of the artist’s water‑scene oeuvre.
Subject & Meaning
The canvas focuses on a cluster of water lilies, their blossoms rendered in muted pastel tones that dissolve into the surrounding water. The delicate foliage and stems emerge just beneath the surface, while the background recedes into a soft, atmospheric blur suggestive of distant foliage and sky. The overall mood conveys quiet contemplation and an immersion in natural serenity.
Technique & Style
Monet employs his characteristic loose brushwork and layered glazing to convey the interplay of light on water. The palette favors cool blues and greens punctuated by gentle pinks and whites, creating subtle tonal variations. The blurred edges and lack of defined outlines reflect his mature Impressionist approach, emphasizing perception over precise detail.
History & Provenance
Created in 1915, the painting entered the collection of the Musée Marmottan Monet, a repository renowned for its holdings of Monet’s later works. The museum acquired the piece as part of its effort to assemble a comprehensive representation of the artist’s exploration of his garden at Giverny, where the water‑lily series originated.
Artist & collection
Artist
Oscar-Claude Monet was born in Paris on November 14, 1840, and raised from the age of five in Le Havre, where he began selling charcoal caricatures as a teenager.
