Artwork
Water Lilies
Water Lilies is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Claude Monet. It dates from 1916 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
The work was produced using oil paint applied to a canvas support, a technique typical of Monet’s later immersive series of garden scenes.
Water Lilies (1916) is an oil‑on‑canvas painting measuring roughly 130.2 × 200.7 cm, created by Claude Monet. The work was produced using oil paint applied to a canvas support, a technique typical of Monet’s later immersive series of garden scenes. The painting depicts an artificial pond populated with water lilies, reflecting Monet’s interest in light and reflection.
It is classified as a painting and is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection (accession 1983.532).
History & Provenance
Claude Monet created the oil painting Water Lilies in 1916. Executed on a canvas measuring 130.2 by 200.7 centimeters, the work depicts an artificial pond filled with water lilies. The piece entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is currently housed and identified by the accession number 1983.532.
While the specific circumstances of its commission or its ownership history prior to 1983 are not detailed in the available records, the work's inception is firmly established as 1916, and its status as part of the Met's permanent holdings confirms its modern provenance.
The 1916 oil painting Water Lilies by Claude Monet is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The work, which depicts an artificial pond with water lilies on a canvas measuring 130.2 by 200.7 centimeters, carries the accession number 1983.532. While the available records confirm its inception date and current institutional location, no specific details regarding its exhibition history or prior provenance are provided in the source material.
Overview
Painted in 1916, this oil on canvas work by Claude Monet is a quintessential example of his late Water Lilies series, created during the final decades of his life at his home in Giverny. The composition abandons traditional horizon lines and distinct foregrounds, presenting an immersive, close-up view of the pond's surface that fills the entire picture plane. Monet employs thick, visible brushstrokes to blend blues, greens, and yellows into soft, rhythmic patches of color, capturing the fleeting effects of light and reflection rather than botanical precision.
Scattered among the floating lilies are small accents of red, providing subtle contrast against the dominant aquatic palette. This approach reflects Monet's shift toward a more abstract, all-over composition that prioritizes the sensory experience of color and light over representational detail. Executed during World War I, the series represents the culmination of the Impressionist movement's exploration of perception, bridging the gap between 19th-century naturalism and the emerging modernist abstraction of the 20th century.
Subject & Meaning
The painting offers an intimate, close-up perspective of a water lily pond, immersing the viewer in its reflective surface. Numerous lilies populate the scene, some resting directly on the water while others emerge slightly above it. Subtle red accents provide visual counterpoint amidst the dominant blues, greens, and yellows, creating a vibrant yet tranquil aquatic environment.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Oscar-Claude Monet was a French painter and founder of Impressionism who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it.
