Title: Iris mauves
Artist: Claude Monet (French, 1840-1926)
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 200.5 x 100.5 cm
Date Created: 1914-1917
Description
In the final two decades of his life, Monet dedicated himself almost exclusively to the water garden he created at Giverny. This profound engagement yielded around 250 canvases, a complex series representing the most innovative and influential work of his career. Approximately 200 depict water lilies floating on the pond’s surface, while the remainder capture other facets of the garden: the Japanese bridge, weeping willows, wisteria arbors, and the clusters of irises, agapanthus, and daylilies on its banks.
The culmination of this endeavor was the Grandes Décorations, an ensemble of 22 mural-sized panels totaling over 90 meters in length. Completed just before his death and donated to the French state, it stands as his most ambitious project. Although conceived as early as 1897, active work began only in 1914, long after the garden had become his primary subject.
This painting belongs to a group of twenty views of irises by the lily pond, dating from Monet’s first concentrated campaign for the Grandes Décorations between 1914 and 1917. It shares the monumental scale and daring, liberated handling intended for the final murals. Art historian Paul Tucker noted that these works, begun in 1914, were “among the most ambitious canvases of his career,” characterized by an unprecedented breadth in size, touch, and vision—simultaneously exploratory and definitive.
Irises were a favorite flower of Monet’s. Here, he adopts a low, close viewpoint, presenting densely packed stems swaying in a gentle breeze. The pale blue ground suggests the reflection of a spring sky in the pond’s water, contrasting with the rich indigos and greens of the supple iris stalks. Though iris imagery did not appear in the final Orangerie installation, studies like this—two meters in height—were crucial explorations on a commensurate scale.
Monet’s late work, largely kept in his studio until after World War II, experienced a dramatic rediscovery in the mid-20th century. Its expansive brushwork and abstract sensibility resonated deeply with post-war artists and collectors. This painting entered the American market in 1956 via Parisian dealer Katia Granoff and was acquired by collectors John and Frances Loeb, marking its significance as a pivotal link between Impressionism and modern painting.
Image Download
Image Dimensions: 1586 x 3200 pixels
Image Size: 381 KB
Image Format: JPG
Print Resolution: 300 dpi
Download Format: ZIP Archive
License: Public Domain, Free for Commercial Use
