Bassin aux Nymphéas by Monet
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : France Monet
Chronology : 1905 1906 1907 1910-1919 1914 1918 1919
List of Water Lily paintings by Monet in Wikipedia.
Page in Grokipedia.
See also : France Monet
Chronology : 1905 1906 1907 1910-1919 1914 1918 1919
List of Water Lily paintings by Monet in Wikipedia.
Page in Grokipedia.
Content
Claude Monet's Water Lilies (Nymphéas) series is one of the most celebrated and extensive bodies of work in art history. It comprises approximately 250 oil paintings created between the late 1890s (starting around 1897–1899) and Monet's death in 1926, spanning nearly 30 years. These works focus almost exclusively on the water lily pond in his garden at Giverny, capturing the ever-changing effects of light, reflection, color, and atmosphere on the water's surface.
The series marks the culmination of Monet's Impressionist practice and pushes toward proto-abstraction, especially in his later years. He famously said, “One instant, one aspect of nature contains it all,” reflecting his obsession with a single motif that allowed endless variations.
Chronology and Evolution
Monet began painting the pond shortly after creating it in the 1890s, but the dedicated Water Lilies series intensified from around 1897 onward:
The pinnacle of the series is the Grandes Décorations (Great Decorations): a set of eight massive mural-sized compositions (made from about 40 panels) installed in two oval rooms at the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris. Monet donated them to France as a symbol of peace after World War I (offered in 1918, with input from his friend Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau). The immersive oval layout surrounds viewers in an infinite, meditative pond-like space, evoking tranquility amid post-war recovery. The rooms opened in 1927, shortly after Monet's death.
Artistic Significance
The series marks the culmination of Monet's Impressionist practice and pushes toward proto-abstraction, especially in his later years. He famously said, “One instant, one aspect of nature contains it all,” reflecting his obsession with a single motif that allowed endless variations.
Chronology and Evolution
Monet began painting the pond shortly after creating it in the 1890s, but the dedicated Water Lilies series intensified from around 1897 onward:
- Early phase (1897–1899/1900): More traditional compositions with a visible horizon line, the Japanese bridge, weeping willows, and surrounding foliage. The first series (about 25 canvases) was exhibited at Galerie Durand-Ruel in 1900.
- Middle phase (1900s–1910s): Increasing focus on the water surface, with looser brushwork and more emphasis on reflections of sky, clouds, and lilies. Horizons often fade or disappear.
- Late phase (1914–1926): The most experimental and abstract works, painted amid Monet's worsening cataracts (which affected his color perception) and personal grief (including the deaths of his wife and son). Horizons vanish entirely; the canvas becomes an all-over field of floating lilies, pads, and shimmering water reflections. These include the monumental Grandes Décorations panels.
The pinnacle of the series is the Grandes Décorations (Great Decorations): a set of eight massive mural-sized compositions (made from about 40 panels) installed in two oval rooms at the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris. Monet donated them to France as a symbol of peace after World War I (offered in 1918, with input from his friend Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau). The immersive oval layout surrounds viewers in an infinite, meditative pond-like space, evoking tranquility amid post-war recovery. The rooms opened in 1927, shortly after Monet's death.
Artistic Significance
- Themes: Light, reflection, transience, and the fusion of surface and depth—Monet painted the same pond repeatedly to capture fleeting moments.
- Technique: Loose, vibrant brushstrokes; layered colors to mimic water's shimmer; shift from representational to near-abstract.
- Influence: Often seen as a bridge to modern abstraction (influencing artists like Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko) and immersive installation art.
- Where to see them: Major examples are at the Musée de l'Orangerie (Paris), Musée d'Orsay (Paris), Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Modern Art (New York), and others worldwide.
Special Report
Giverny Garden
Claude Monet's Giverny garden was his lifelong passion project and ultimate artistic inspiration, transforming a modest Normandy property into two interconnected masterpieces of horticulture and light that directly fueled his late career, especially the famous Water Lilies series.
Monet settled in Giverny in 1883, renting a house called "Le Pressoir" (the cider press) in this quiet village about 75 km northwest of Paris. He purchased it in 1890 and lived there until his death in 1926—43 years total. As passionate about gardening as painting, he redesigned the grounds with the help of family, gardeners, and exchanges with fellow Impressionist Gustave Caillebotte (swapping seeds and advice). He treated the garden as a living artwork, prioritizing vibrant perennials, avoiding bare earth or dark/variegated plants, and favoring blues, doubles (like roses/peonies), and exotic imports.
The property divides into two distinct sections:
The garden's legacy ties directly to his monumental Water Lilies (Nymphéas) cycle—over 250 works—and the Orangerie donation. He called it his "most beautiful masterpiece," a private sanctuary where light, water, and blooms merged into timeless studies of perception.
Today, the Fondation Claude Monet maintains the site as a museum. The house (with preserved interiors: yellow dining room, blue kitchen, Monet's studio) and gardens are open to the public seasonally. As of February 21, 2026, they are closed for winter and will reopen on April 1, 2026 (daily 10am–6pm until November 1). Online booking is recommended due to popularity; expect crowds in peak season (spring/summer for irises/lilies, autumn for foliage). The garden remains remarkably faithful to Monet's vision, with ongoing care for water management and planting. Visitors often describe stepping into his paintings—serene, colorful, and profoundly immersive.
Monet settled in Giverny in 1883, renting a house called "Le Pressoir" (the cider press) in this quiet village about 75 km northwest of Paris. He purchased it in 1890 and lived there until his death in 1926—43 years total. As passionate about gardening as painting, he redesigned the grounds with the help of family, gardeners, and exchanges with fellow Impressionist Gustave Caillebotte (swapping seeds and advice). He treated the garden as a living artwork, prioritizing vibrant perennials, avoiding bare earth or dark/variegated plants, and favoring blues, doubles (like roses/peonies), and exotic imports.
The property divides into two distinct sections:
- Clos Normand (the "Norman enclosure"): The flower garden surrounding the pink-and-green-shuttered house. This sunny, structured area features long central alleys lined with vibrant flower beds—irises, poppies, sunflowers, nasturtiums, dahlias, roses, and more—under climbing arches and trellises. Paths wind through explosions of color, with the house's green shutters and ivy-clad façade providing a backdrop. Monet painted scenes here, like The Artist's Garden at Giverny (1900, Musée d'Orsay), showing dappled light through trees on flower beds.
- Jardin d'Eau (water garden): Across the road (and later a railway), Monet acquired land in 1893 and excavated a pond fed by the Epte River. Inspired by Japanese prints (he collected ukiyo-e), he added a curved green Japanese bridge, weeping willows, bamboo, irises, and thousands of water lilies (nymphéas) imported from varieties worldwide. This serene, reflective space became his obsession from the late 1890s onward—no horizon lines, just surface patterns of lilies, sky reflections, and foliage.
The garden's legacy ties directly to his monumental Water Lilies (Nymphéas) cycle—over 250 works—and the Orangerie donation. He called it his "most beautiful masterpiece," a private sanctuary where light, water, and blooms merged into timeless studies of perception.
Today, the Fondation Claude Monet maintains the site as a museum. The house (with preserved interiors: yellow dining room, blue kitchen, Monet's studio) and gardens are open to the public seasonally. As of February 21, 2026, they are closed for winter and will reopen on April 1, 2026 (daily 10am–6pm until November 1). Online booking is recommended due to popularity; expect crowds in peak season (spring/summer for irises/lilies, autumn for foliage). The garden remains remarkably faithful to Monet's vision, with ongoing care for water management and planting. Visitors often describe stepping into his paintings—serene, colorful, and profoundly immersive.
Monet is an amateur but careful and skilled gardener. He visits the booth of the horticulturist Latour-Marliac at the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1889.
A specialist in bamboos and other aquatic plants, Latour-Marliac is a skilled hybridizer. He was the first in Western Europe to create colored nenuphars by crossbreeding the usual white blossomed plants with wild species.
In 1893, when Monet obtains the administrative authorization to create a water garden in his estate at Giverny, he already knows that it will be a laboratory for his artistic creation. He was then interested in the reflections of the tall trees in water and in his Japanese bridge.
In 1894 he purchases from Latour-Marliac plants from 32 different species including a yellow Nymphaea created in 1888 and a pink Nymphaea created in 1892. His interest in these hybrids is not immediate but his curiosity increases.
As for painting, the small series of four Massif de chrysanthèmes is a breakthrough, in 1897. The top down view in close up eliminates the horizon for a full vertical filling of the flower bed in brilliant colors without peripheral details or perspective effect. An oil on canvas 130 x 89 cm was sold for £ 8.3M by Sotheby's on March 2, 2022, lot 118.
A visitor observed that Monet wants as many flowers in his garden as a space can hold. He also wants to look at them all year round, always present but ever changing.
Monet paints his first Nymphéas in 1897 also, displaying the plants on the water in close-up with a botanical accuracy, also as a top down view without a horizon. That first Nymphéas series is made of eight paintings executed between 1897 and 1899.
An oil on canvas 73 x 100 cm features two waterlily blossoms in brilliant white on the surface of the pond rendered in a mingling of blues, violets, indigos for the water and deep greens and turquoises for the plants. It was sold for HK $ 233M by Christie's on September 26, 2024, lot 8. The video is shared by the auction house.
Continuously in search of the harmony of colors and lights, Monet could not ignore the water lilies. When he had introduced some of them in his pool at Giverny, it was for the pleasure of gardening. The infinite variety of shapes and reflections pushed Monet to make the Nymphéas his favorite subject.
Constable had been the painter of the wind. Monet was the artist of the water surface. After the development of Impressionism, the Nymphéas series is the second revolution brought about by Monet in art history.
A view in clear weather under a gentle sun, oil on canvas 90 x 100 cm painted in 1905, was sold for $ 44M by Christie's on November 7, 2012. The water lilies have a botanical accuracy, the more readable reflections are a better tribute to the pleasure of the garden. It had been exhibited by Durand-Ruel in the groundbreaking 1909 exhibition.
A specialist in bamboos and other aquatic plants, Latour-Marliac is a skilled hybridizer. He was the first in Western Europe to create colored nenuphars by crossbreeding the usual white blossomed plants with wild species.
In 1893, when Monet obtains the administrative authorization to create a water garden in his estate at Giverny, he already knows that it will be a laboratory for his artistic creation. He was then interested in the reflections of the tall trees in water and in his Japanese bridge.
In 1894 he purchases from Latour-Marliac plants from 32 different species including a yellow Nymphaea created in 1888 and a pink Nymphaea created in 1892. His interest in these hybrids is not immediate but his curiosity increases.
As for painting, the small series of four Massif de chrysanthèmes is a breakthrough, in 1897. The top down view in close up eliminates the horizon for a full vertical filling of the flower bed in brilliant colors without peripheral details or perspective effect. An oil on canvas 130 x 89 cm was sold for £ 8.3M by Sotheby's on March 2, 2022, lot 118.
A visitor observed that Monet wants as many flowers in his garden as a space can hold. He also wants to look at them all year round, always present but ever changing.
Monet paints his first Nymphéas in 1897 also, displaying the plants on the water in close-up with a botanical accuracy, also as a top down view without a horizon. That first Nymphéas series is made of eight paintings executed between 1897 and 1899.
An oil on canvas 73 x 100 cm features two waterlily blossoms in brilliant white on the surface of the pond rendered in a mingling of blues, violets, indigos for the water and deep greens and turquoises for the plants. It was sold for HK $ 233M by Christie's on September 26, 2024, lot 8. The video is shared by the auction house.
Continuously in search of the harmony of colors and lights, Monet could not ignore the water lilies. When he had introduced some of them in his pool at Giverny, it was for the pleasure of gardening. The infinite variety of shapes and reflections pushed Monet to make the Nymphéas his favorite subject.
Constable had been the painter of the wind. Monet was the artist of the water surface. After the development of Impressionism, the Nymphéas series is the second revolution brought about by Monet in art history.
A view in clear weather under a gentle sun, oil on canvas 90 x 100 cm painted in 1905, was sold for $ 44M by Christie's on November 7, 2012. The water lilies have a botanical accuracy, the more readable reflections are a better tribute to the pleasure of the garden. It had been exhibited by Durand-Ruel in the groundbreaking 1909 exhibition.
Claude Monet's Haystacks (also known as Meules or Grainstacks) series precedes and directly influences his Rouen Cathedral series, marking a pivotal evolution in his exploration of serial painting. The Haystacks series (primarily 1890–1891) was Monet's first major public exhibition of works conceived as a unified group, while Rouen Cathedral (1892–1894, with studio finishing in 1894) built upon and intensified the same principles.
Key Details and Comparison
Key Details and Comparison
- Dates and Production:
- Haystacks: Begun late summer 1890, continued through spring 1891 (core series of 25 canvases, Wildenstein nos. 1266–1290; some earlier related works from 1888–1889).
- Rouen Cathedral: Painted 1892–1893 on-site in Rouen, refined in Giverny studio 1894 (over 30 works, roughly 28–31 core views of the west façade).
- Haystacks came first, establishing the serial method; Rouen followed immediately after, with Monet applying lessons from the earlier series.
- Number of Paintings and Motif:
- Haystacks: ~25 core paintings of conical wheat/grain stacks in fields near his Giverny home (belonging to neighbor Monsieur Queruel), often in pairs or groups, set against rural landscape.
- Rouen Cathedral: ~30 paintings of the same fixed Gothic façade (portals, towers like Saint-Romain and d'Albane), tightly cropped to fill the canvas from a consistent urban viewpoint.
- Both fixate on one unchanging subject to isolate variables like light, but Haystacks uses a natural, rural, organic form; Rouen uses an architectural, monumental, man-made structure.m
- Purpose and Technique:
- Both series capture the same motif under shifting conditions (time of day, season, weather) to show how light and atmosphere transform perception—emphasizing ephemerality over permanence.
- Haystacks: More landscape-oriented, with broader fields, horizons, distant hills/trees; conical shapes provide simple, rounded volumes that glow with seasonal colors (golden summer sunsets, snowy winter whites, misty mornings).
- Rouen Cathedral: Urban and architectural; intricate Gothic details (tracery, shadows in portals) dissolve into vibrant, encrusted impasto; stone "comes alive" with light, pushing toward near-abstraction.
- Similarities: Thick brushwork, vibrant/optical color mixing, no figures, focus on fleeting effects; both painted by switching multiple canvases outdoors as light changed rapidly.
- Differences: Haystacks feels more pastoral and seasonal (full cycle: summer to spring); Rouen is more dramatic and introspective, with the massive façade acting as a "screen" for light, making the building secondary to atmospheric effects.
- Exhibition and Reception:
- Haystacks: 15 shown together at Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris, May 1891—groundbreaking success, critical acclaim, strong sales; boosted Monet's reputation and prices.
- Rouen Cathedral: 20 selected for Durand-Ruel exhibition, May 1895—praised (e.g., by Clemenceau) for animating stone through light; continued the serial innovation.
- Haystacks marked the breakthrough; Rouen refined it, proving the approach worked with complex, symbolic subjects.
- Legacy and Market:
- Both are cornerstones of late Impressionism, influencing abstraction by prioritizing perception over representation.
- Haystacks often seen as more "pure" Impressionist (natural motif); Rouen as transitional toward modernism (dissolving form).
- Market: Haystacks hold some of Monet's highest records (e.g., examples exceeding $100M+ in recent decades); Rouen pieces also fetch mid- to high eight figures, reflecting enduring demand for these atmospheric masterpieces.
Nymphéas
1
1905
2015 SOLD for $ 54M by Sotheby's
In 1904 Claude Monet is seduced by his own work, not as an artist but as a gardener. Water lilies are now invading his pond at Giverny. The various colors of the flowers match the Art Nouveau sensitivity of the time. In the same year he buys four other hybrids to Latour-Marliac.
Unlike the ivy on the wall, they will not cover the entire available surface. Spreading their leaves flush with water, they materialize in perspective the real surface of the pond, gradually occupying the surface of the pond. The artist has found his master : nature itself, no less.
These nymphéas become a favorite theme in Monet's art. Nothing escapes him in the daily cycle from the opening to the closing of the blossom, or in the reaction of the plant to light and to weather conditions. He still uses the process that was so successful to him in previous decades, by installing several easels and working from canvas to canvas depending on hour and weather.
From 1904 to 1908, Monet produced his first large series of Nymphéas. With more than 60 paintings which he wants all different from one another, the artist expresses the most subtle variations of color and light, changing the distance and population of the flowers, the importance of the reflections from the trees and the expressive power of color.
The artist later recognized that he "hardly had any other subject since that moment". He was indeed catching in his own garden the most subtle theme of modern painting.
The horizon disappears, the details become abstract but the botanical accuracy remains. An early example in this new figurative style, dated 1904, 81 x 100 cm, was sold for £ 18.5M by Sotheby's on 19 June 2007, lot 7.
In 1905 the water lilies are sparse to offer a better role to reflections that became recognizable although the trees are still out of field. The plants form a floating cohort simulating a nice horizontal movement.
On May 5, 2015, Sotheby's sold for $ 54M from a lower estimate of $ 30M an oil on canvas 81 x 100 cm painted in 1905, lot 30. It displays the blocks at the water surface in an atmosphere of early or late hour providing a superb harmony of deep blues and greens.
Durand-Ruel was the first to understand and support the transformation of the art of Monet. In 1909, he assembled in an exhibition 48 Nymphéas by Monet, including the painting narrated above. Through this unique theme, careful observers could detect the infinite variety of the artistic creation.
Grok thought :
Quote
Sotheby's @Sothebys May 6, 2015
AuctionUpdate: Sotheby's Chairmen George Wachter and Patti Wong battle for Monet’s ‘Nymphéas,' selling for $54m
Unlike the ivy on the wall, they will not cover the entire available surface. Spreading their leaves flush with water, they materialize in perspective the real surface of the pond, gradually occupying the surface of the pond. The artist has found his master : nature itself, no less.
These nymphéas become a favorite theme in Monet's art. Nothing escapes him in the daily cycle from the opening to the closing of the blossom, or in the reaction of the plant to light and to weather conditions. He still uses the process that was so successful to him in previous decades, by installing several easels and working from canvas to canvas depending on hour and weather.
From 1904 to 1908, Monet produced his first large series of Nymphéas. With more than 60 paintings which he wants all different from one another, the artist expresses the most subtle variations of color and light, changing the distance and population of the flowers, the importance of the reflections from the trees and the expressive power of color.
The artist later recognized that he "hardly had any other subject since that moment". He was indeed catching in his own garden the most subtle theme of modern painting.
The horizon disappears, the details become abstract but the botanical accuracy remains. An early example in this new figurative style, dated 1904, 81 x 100 cm, was sold for £ 18.5M by Sotheby's on 19 June 2007, lot 7.
In 1905 the water lilies are sparse to offer a better role to reflections that became recognizable although the trees are still out of field. The plants form a floating cohort simulating a nice horizontal movement.
On May 5, 2015, Sotheby's sold for $ 54M from a lower estimate of $ 30M an oil on canvas 81 x 100 cm painted in 1905, lot 30. It displays the blocks at the water surface in an atmosphere of early or late hour providing a superb harmony of deep blues and greens.
Durand-Ruel was the first to understand and support the transformation of the art of Monet. In 1909, he assembled in an exhibition 48 Nymphéas by Monet, including the painting narrated above. Through this unique theme, careful observers could detect the infinite variety of the artistic creation.
Grok thought :
Quote
Sotheby's @Sothebys May 6, 2015
AuctionUpdate: Sotheby's Chairmen George Wachter and Patti Wong battle for Monet’s ‘Nymphéas,' selling for $54m
- This 2015 Sotheby's post celebrates the $54 million sale of Claude Monet's 1905 "Les Nymphéas," a water lily painting that exceeded its $45 million estimate during a heated bidding war.
- The competition featured Sotheby's own chairmen—George Wachter for the Americas and Patti Wong for Asia—with Wachter ultimately winning on behalf of a private U.S. collector.
- As part of a blockbuster $368 million Impressionist auction, the sale highlighted surging global demand for Monet's iconic series, where four water lily works ranked among the top five lots.
AuctionUpdate: Sotheby's Chairmen George Wachter and Patti Wong battle for Monet’s ‘Nymphéas,' selling for $54m pic.twitter.com/4mlTAOvKY9
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) May 6, 20152
1906
2014 SOLD for £ 32M by Sotheby's
Claude Monet is the painter of the elusive. His studies of light variations have transformed the Western art. He should not be regarded as a leader, but rather as a great creator.
The Durand-Ruel gallery was a great instigator of talent. In 1905, Monet is 65 years old, already. He departed from the excitement of the life in Paris to enjoy his garden at Giverny. An exhibition project for Durand-Ruel made his passion. The exhibition took place in 1909, and Monet found there the theme that monopolized his art until the end of his life: the water lilies in his garden.
This series of "Nymphéas" mark the total success of an impossible challenge: to show in painting the transparency of water. The flowers are seen obliquely, with perspective, lighting and reflections being different each time. They are widely spaced, and between them is coming the incredible illusion: the observer sees the surface of the water. They are not abstract, far away, but the lack of horizon has certainly influenced the non-figurative art.
An oil on canvas 90 x 100 cm was sold for $ 21M by Christie's on May 8, 2000, lot 21, and for £ 32M by Sotheby's on June 23, 2014, lot 17. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Made in 1906, it was one of the highlights of the exhibition of 1909. The light is established by very subtle pastel shades, and the reflections are superb.
Groke thought :
Quote
Sotheby's @Sothebys Jun 24, 2014
Last night’s sale was led by Monet’s Water Lilies, which commanded the second highest price for the artist at auction
The Durand-Ruel gallery was a great instigator of talent. In 1905, Monet is 65 years old, already. He departed from the excitement of the life in Paris to enjoy his garden at Giverny. An exhibition project for Durand-Ruel made his passion. The exhibition took place in 1909, and Monet found there the theme that monopolized his art until the end of his life: the water lilies in his garden.
This series of "Nymphéas" mark the total success of an impossible challenge: to show in painting the transparency of water. The flowers are seen obliquely, with perspective, lighting and reflections being different each time. They are widely spaced, and between them is coming the incredible illusion: the observer sees the surface of the water. They are not abstract, far away, but the lack of horizon has certainly influenced the non-figurative art.
An oil on canvas 90 x 100 cm was sold for $ 21M by Christie's on May 8, 2000, lot 21, and for £ 32M by Sotheby's on June 23, 2014, lot 17. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Made in 1906, it was one of the highlights of the exhibition of 1909. The light is established by very subtle pastel shades, and the reflections are superb.
Groke thought :
Quote
Sotheby's @Sothebys Jun 24, 2014
Last night’s sale was led by Monet’s Water Lilies, which commanded the second highest price for the artist at auction
- Sotheby's June 23, 2014, Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale in London featured Claude Monet's 1906 "Nymphéas" water lilies painting, which sold for £31.7 million ($54 million), marking the second-highest auction price for Monet at the time and leading a total haul of $208 million across 46 lots.
- The painting depicts Monet's iconic Giverny garden pond, part of a series he obsessively painted from 1896 to 1926, capturing light and color in over 250 works that influenced abstract art and now anchor major museum collections like the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris.
- This sale highlighted the enduring market strength of Impressionism, with "Nymphéas" outpacing other lots like a Mondrian for $38 million, underscoring how Monet's late-career focus on nature's ephemerality continues to command premium prices among collectors.
3
1907 W1698
2022 SOLD for $ 56M by Christie's
In 1907 the continuation of the Nymphéas series by Monet brings a major breakthrough in modern art. The hues become lighter and ethereal. The accuracy of the brush lines is superseded by the confrontation of rare colors, paving the way to the abstract expressionism four decades later. The horticulture is now secondary to the atmosphere and light.
Monet applies in 1907 his signature practice of repeating the same views by varying time of the day, weather and season. The Wildenstein references W1695 to W1700 and W1703 to W1717 are such groups.
On May 12, 2022, Christie's sold for $ 56M from a lower estimate of $ 35M a 94 x 89 cm oil on canvas painted in 1907 in pastel like hues, lot 12C, reference Wildenstein 1698. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Between the groups of floating flowers, the mirror image of the trees and sky at the surface of the water provides another pre-abstract element. The wide open blossoms had been captured in the morning or early afternoon.
This opus was included in the seminal exhibition of 48 Nymphéas by Durand-Ruel in 1909.
Its nearly square format certainly predates the bold transition to vertical format in the same year, which would be a nonsense if the painting were a mere scenery.
Asking Grok to define the changes in style compared with the Nymphéas of the previous years.
Grok thoughts
Claude Monet's Nymphéas from 1907, sold as Lot 12C at Christie's New York on May 12, 2022, for $56,495,000 (including premium), exemplifies a pivotal phase in the evolution of his Water Lilies series. This oil on canvas (93.8 x 89.3 cm), signed and dated lower right, captures the lily pond at Giverny with open blossoms floating amid reflections of foliage, emphasizing harmonious integration through mitigated value contrasts and a central expanse of light.
Compared to the Nymphéas from previous years—particularly the initial series of 1897–1899 and early works up to 1903—the 1907 painting reflects significant stylistic shifts that began around 1904, marking a transition toward greater abstraction and immersion. Early examples, such as those from 1897–1899 (e.g., Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies, now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art), retained traditional compositional elements like a fixed horizon line, the Japanese footbridge, and surrounding trees or banks, providing spatial orientation and a stable geometric structure with conventional linear perspective. These works were more representational, focusing on the pond environment as a holistic landscape scene divided by the horizon, with impressionistic blurring but grounded in recognizable forms and naturalism.
By contrast, the 1907 Nymphéas—part of the more experimental 1904–1908 sub-series—omits the horizon entirely, along with any orienting contextual elements like the bridge or edges of the pond. The gaze shifts downward to the water's surface, tilting the plane toward the vertical and creating a radically destabilized, closely cropped view where the world beyond exists only in mirror-image reflections. This results in a synthesis of water, sky, flowers, and foliage into an ambivalent, infinite space that blends real and reflected elements, amplifying the impression of the imponderable and foreshadowing modernism.
Key changes include:
These developments, seen across over 60 Nymphéas from 1905–1908, stemmed from Monet's deepening fixation on his water garden as a source of endless variety, reflecting his belief in nature's primacy and his own visionary creativity. Critics at the 1909 Durand-Ruel exhibition, where this painting was shown as no. 28, praised such works for their transcendent abstraction, even surpassing contemporary Cubist experiments in simplifying vision to magnify the intangible.
Monet applies in 1907 his signature practice of repeating the same views by varying time of the day, weather and season. The Wildenstein references W1695 to W1700 and W1703 to W1717 are such groups.
On May 12, 2022, Christie's sold for $ 56M from a lower estimate of $ 35M a 94 x 89 cm oil on canvas painted in 1907 in pastel like hues, lot 12C, reference Wildenstein 1698. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Between the groups of floating flowers, the mirror image of the trees and sky at the surface of the water provides another pre-abstract element. The wide open blossoms had been captured in the morning or early afternoon.
This opus was included in the seminal exhibition of 48 Nymphéas by Durand-Ruel in 1909.
Its nearly square format certainly predates the bold transition to vertical format in the same year, which would be a nonsense if the painting were a mere scenery.
Asking Grok to define the changes in style compared with the Nymphéas of the previous years.
Grok thoughts
Claude Monet's Nymphéas from 1907, sold as Lot 12C at Christie's New York on May 12, 2022, for $56,495,000 (including premium), exemplifies a pivotal phase in the evolution of his Water Lilies series. This oil on canvas (93.8 x 89.3 cm), signed and dated lower right, captures the lily pond at Giverny with open blossoms floating amid reflections of foliage, emphasizing harmonious integration through mitigated value contrasts and a central expanse of light.
Compared to the Nymphéas from previous years—particularly the initial series of 1897–1899 and early works up to 1903—the 1907 painting reflects significant stylistic shifts that began around 1904, marking a transition toward greater abstraction and immersion. Early examples, such as those from 1897–1899 (e.g., Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies, now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art), retained traditional compositional elements like a fixed horizon line, the Japanese footbridge, and surrounding trees or banks, providing spatial orientation and a stable geometric structure with conventional linear perspective. These works were more representational, focusing on the pond environment as a holistic landscape scene divided by the horizon, with impressionistic blurring but grounded in recognizable forms and naturalism.
By contrast, the 1907 Nymphéas—part of the more experimental 1904–1908 sub-series—omits the horizon entirely, along with any orienting contextual elements like the bridge or edges of the pond. The gaze shifts downward to the water's surface, tilting the plane toward the vertical and creating a radically destabilized, closely cropped view where the world beyond exists only in mirror-image reflections. This results in a synthesis of water, sky, flowers, and foliage into an ambivalent, infinite space that blends real and reflected elements, amplifying the impression of the imponderable and foreshadowing modernism.
Key changes include:
- Composition and Space: From structured, perspective-driven scenes with clear divisions (e.g., sky above, pond below) to borderless, immersive waterscapes that emphasize surface tensions between depth, near/far, and stability/unknown, producing a sense of continual transformation.
- Abstraction and Form: Earlier works maintained tangible realities and literal representation; by 1907, forms disintegrate into shifting patterns, with lily pads and reflections rendered as kaleidoscopic variations that prioritize motif and metaphor over definition.
- Color and Light: Pre-1904 paintings used a more naturalistic palette aligned with impressionistic light effects. The 1907 work explores bolder color harmonies and temporal variations (e.g., morning light in this sub-series), with unified masses of reflected foliage surrounding lighter central areas to convey infinite, altering appearances from minute to minute.
- Technique and Brushwork: Initial series featured softer, blended strokes for atmospheric naturalism. In 1907, Monet employed vigorous, textural brushwork—thick impasto for sculptural flower presence atop the water, contrasted with thin, layered glazes suggesting refractions and depths—emphasizing the canvas's flat surface while playing against subtle spatial recession via diminishing blossom scales.
These developments, seen across over 60 Nymphéas from 1905–1908, stemmed from Monet's deepening fixation on his water garden as a source of endless variety, reflecting his belief in nature's primacy and his own visionary creativity. Critics at the 1909 Durand-Ruel exhibition, where this painting was shown as no. 28, praised such works for their transcendent abstraction, even surpassing contemporary Cubist experiments in simplifying vision to magnify the intangible.
4
1907 W1706
2025 SOLD for $ 45.5M by Christie's
An oil on canvas 100 x 80 cm, painted by Monet in 1907 within an experimental series of fifteen works in a single viewpoint, is made of soft shades more highlighting the reflections than the botany. It includes an innovation of Monet from that year : he realized that he was no longer a painter of landscapes and experienced the vertical format with no horizon. Referenced W1707 by Wildenstein, it was sold for $ 27M by Christie's on May 6, 2014, lot 8. The video is shared by the auction house.
Nymphéas, temps gris, oil on canvas 100 x 73 cm painted by Monet in 1907, is the next Wildenstein opus, W1708. It features the pond, the flowers and the reflections of the foliage in poor weather, highlighting the thunderous reflection of the sky between the floating groups of water lilies. Monet will not reuse this dramatic effect in the next series of Nymphéas.
W1708 was featured in the seminal exhibition of the Nymphéas by Durand-Ruel in 1909. It was sold by Christie's for $ 11.2M on May 2, 2006, lot 11 coming at that time from the family of Aristotle Onassis, and for £ 30M on June 28, 2022, lot 38.
W1706, oil on canvas 92 x 74 cm painted in 1907, is another opus from the 1909 exhibition at Durand-Ruel. It was sold for $ 45.5M by Christie's on November 17, 2025, lot 22A. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
In the autumn, Monet proudly reported the achievement of that series to Durand-Ruel.
Grok thought :
Quote
Tak(たけ) @『いちばんやさしい美術鑑賞』@taktwi Sep 21
christie's new york presents property from the collection of the kawamura memorial dic museum of art https://press.christies.com/christies-new-york-presents-property-from-the-collection-of-the-kawamura-memorial-dic-museum-of-art…
Nymphéas, temps gris, oil on canvas 100 x 73 cm painted by Monet in 1907, is the next Wildenstein opus, W1708. It features the pond, the flowers and the reflections of the foliage in poor weather, highlighting the thunderous reflection of the sky between the floating groups of water lilies. Monet will not reuse this dramatic effect in the next series of Nymphéas.
W1708 was featured in the seminal exhibition of the Nymphéas by Durand-Ruel in 1909. It was sold by Christie's for $ 11.2M on May 2, 2006, lot 11 coming at that time from the family of Aristotle Onassis, and for £ 30M on June 28, 2022, lot 38.
W1706, oil on canvas 92 x 74 cm painted in 1907, is another opus from the 1909 exhibition at Durand-Ruel. It was sold for $ 45.5M by Christie's on November 17, 2025, lot 22A. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
In the autumn, Monet proudly reported the achievement of that series to Durand-Ruel.
Grok thought :
Quote
Tak(たけ) @『いちばんやさしい美術鑑賞』@taktwi Sep 21
christie's new york presents property from the collection of the kawamura memorial dic museum of art https://press.christies.com/christies-new-york-presents-property-from-the-collection-of-the-kawamura-memorial-dic-museum-of-art…
- The post links to Christie's September 2025 press release announcing a November auction of eight masterpieces from the Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art, featuring works by Monet, Renoir, Matisse, and Chagall, with Monet's 1907 "Water Lilies" carrying a low estimate of $40 million.
- This sale follows the museum's closure in March 2025 due to DIC Corporation's financial pressures, as outlined in their IR announcement, aiming to liquidate the collection for up to $60 million total through auctions and private channels.
- The thread's images showcase the artworks' iconic status, highlighting how such Impressionist and Modern pieces continue to command high values, supported by a 2018 Sotheby's sale of a comparable Monet "Water Lilies" for $54 million.
.jpg)
1914-1917 W1790 Nymphéas en Fleur
2018 SOLD for $ 85M by Christie's
From 1905 to 1908 Monet's paint layer is progressively thinner with a longer brush strokes. From 1907 he positions also some paintings vertically.
His focus is also changing. Controlling the effects of the surface of water, he scatters the leaves. The horizon and the shore are pushed out of field, which facilitates the adoption of a square format. The perspective is replaced by the flexible figures formed by the flotilla of plants. The clear water reflects the tall trees. The main theme is not the pool but the color.
Unlike previous series, Monet is managing to bring this theme to a close. As he progresses, he removes the paintings that no longer suit him. It is probably for this reason that he is so reluctant to leave his garden for his long stay in Venice, from October 1908.
Back from Venice, he does not retrieve his obsession. Durand-Ruel can finally exhibit the Nymphéas, from May 6 to June 5, 1909. This set of 48 paintings offers the complete vision of the artist for this theme.
On November 5, 2015, Sotheby's sold for $ 34M an undated oil on canvas 100 x 81 cm, lot 22. Its focusing on the plants in subtle pastel tones is typical of the later 1908 Nymphéas.
In 1912, aged 71, Monet suddenly loses the vision in his right eye blinded by cataract. This illness could have been a disaster for his career as an artist, and for his passion to show in his paintings the transparent surface of the water.
1914 is a terrible year. His son Jean dies in February, less than three years after Alice. International relations are desperate. Fortunately his friend Georges Clemenceau pushes him back to work by suggesting the project of the Grandes Décorations.
In that year he restarts his theme of Nymphéas on larger formats while observing its decorative effect. He redesigns his workshop in the following year to paint entirely indoors his largest canvases which he devotes to enlargements of small details. A group of giant iris at water's edge 200 x 100 cm was sold for £ 10.8M by Christie's on June 23, 2015.
This decorative ambition led him in 1917 to test panoramic formats, around 130 x 200 cm, the largest dimension for which he is able to paint outdoors using a system of ropes and weights. He multiplies the sketches with, according to his signature habit, the greatest variety of colors expressing the different lights of the day.
Under the influence of Clémenceau, the project becomes a patriotic symbol, titled Les Grandes Décorations, which he completes in 1926.
On May 8, 2018, Christie's sold for $ 85M Nymphéas en fleur, oil on canvas 140 x 180 cm painted in his signature style of 1914-1917, lot 10. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The large size enables here a synthesis of the two visions of the artist. Nine big flowers in five groups have retrieved the details of the earliest series while the leaves and reflections are positioning the surface of the water on the whole of this image with no horizon.
Grok thought :
Quote
Christie's @ChristiesInc May 9, 2018
#AuctionUpdate Claude Monet’s ‘Nymphéas en fleur’ achieves $84,687,500, a new #WorldAuctionRecord for the artist! https://bit.ly/2InpFkx
His focus is also changing. Controlling the effects of the surface of water, he scatters the leaves. The horizon and the shore are pushed out of field, which facilitates the adoption of a square format. The perspective is replaced by the flexible figures formed by the flotilla of plants. The clear water reflects the tall trees. The main theme is not the pool but the color.
Unlike previous series, Monet is managing to bring this theme to a close. As he progresses, he removes the paintings that no longer suit him. It is probably for this reason that he is so reluctant to leave his garden for his long stay in Venice, from October 1908.
Back from Venice, he does not retrieve his obsession. Durand-Ruel can finally exhibit the Nymphéas, from May 6 to June 5, 1909. This set of 48 paintings offers the complete vision of the artist for this theme.
On November 5, 2015, Sotheby's sold for $ 34M an undated oil on canvas 100 x 81 cm, lot 22. Its focusing on the plants in subtle pastel tones is typical of the later 1908 Nymphéas.
In 1912, aged 71, Monet suddenly loses the vision in his right eye blinded by cataract. This illness could have been a disaster for his career as an artist, and for his passion to show in his paintings the transparent surface of the water.
1914 is a terrible year. His son Jean dies in February, less than three years after Alice. International relations are desperate. Fortunately his friend Georges Clemenceau pushes him back to work by suggesting the project of the Grandes Décorations.
In that year he restarts his theme of Nymphéas on larger formats while observing its decorative effect. He redesigns his workshop in the following year to paint entirely indoors his largest canvases which he devotes to enlargements of small details. A group of giant iris at water's edge 200 x 100 cm was sold for £ 10.8M by Christie's on June 23, 2015.
This decorative ambition led him in 1917 to test panoramic formats, around 130 x 200 cm, the largest dimension for which he is able to paint outdoors using a system of ropes and weights. He multiplies the sketches with, according to his signature habit, the greatest variety of colors expressing the different lights of the day.
Under the influence of Clémenceau, the project becomes a patriotic symbol, titled Les Grandes Décorations, which he completes in 1926.
On May 8, 2018, Christie's sold for $ 85M Nymphéas en fleur, oil on canvas 140 x 180 cm painted in his signature style of 1914-1917, lot 10. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The large size enables here a synthesis of the two visions of the artist. Nine big flowers in five groups have retrieved the details of the earliest series while the leaves and reflections are positioning the surface of the water on the whole of this image with no horizon.
Grok thought :
Quote
Christie's @ChristiesInc May 9, 2018
#AuctionUpdate Claude Monet’s ‘Nymphéas en fleur’ achieves $84,687,500, a new #WorldAuctionRecord for the artist! https://bit.ly/2InpFkx
- Christie's 2018 post announces the $84.7 million sale of Claude Monet's "Nymphéas en fleur" (1914–17), a large-scale water lilies canvas that set a world auction record for the artist at the time, exceeding prior highs by over 50%.
- The painting, from the Rockefeller collection acquired in 1956, fetched the second-highest price in a landmark series of sales totaling $832 million, underscoring the enduring demand for Impressionist works from elite provenances.
- Depicting blooming lilies on Monet's Giverny pond amid his later vision-impairing cataracts, the piece reflects his innovative focus on light and color, with provenance tracing directly from his estate to private hands.
#LiveLikeARockefeller: ‘The closer you get to the canvas, the more you feel like you’re inside it. The rest of the world vanishes,’ says Rebecca Wei, our President of Christie’s Asia, of the Rockefellers’ ‘Nymphéas en fleur’ by Claude #Monet.https://t.co/mT8EnKHNAN pic.twitter.com/LrOsMEJU7F
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) April 24, 2018
1914-1917 W1789 Nymphéas
2024 SOLD for $ 66M by Sotheby's
The Nymphéas opus 1789 in the nomenclature of Wildenstein was painted by Monet in the same style and similar size as the 1790 narrated above. It belongs to the period 1914-1917 and was probably begun in 1914.
The groups of flowers are more scattered but the reflection of the surrounding trees is similar. They are made of touches of white, pink and yellow in a luscious surrounding of purples and blues.
This oil on canvas 175 x 135 cm was sold for $ 66M by Sotheby's on November 18, 2024, lot 8. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Grok thought :
Quote
Sotheby's @Sothebys Nov 19, 2024
#AuctionUpdate: When most people think of Impressionism, they think of Monet’s waterlilies. ‘Nymphéas’, a seminal Monet waterlily painting, fetches $65.5M at auction. #SothebysModern
The groups of flowers are more scattered but the reflection of the surrounding trees is similar. They are made of touches of white, pink and yellow in a luscious surrounding of purples and blues.
This oil on canvas 175 x 135 cm was sold for $ 66M by Sotheby's on November 18, 2024, lot 8. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Grok thought :
Quote
Sotheby's @Sothebys Nov 19, 2024
#AuctionUpdate: When most people think of Impressionism, they think of Monet’s waterlilies. ‘Nymphéas’, a seminal Monet waterlily painting, fetches $65.5M at auction. #SothebysModern
- Claude Monet's "Nymphéas" (1914–1917), part of his iconic water lilies series painted in his Giverny garden, captures the interplay of light on pond surfaces through loose brushstrokes and vibrant blues-greens, symbolizing his late-career immersion in impressionistic abstraction.
- The painting sold for $65.5 million at Sotheby's New York on November 18, 2024, from the Sydell Miller collection, after a 17-minute bidding war that exceeded estimates and highlighted strong demand for blue-chip Impressionist works amid a $309 million evening total.
- This result underscores Monet's enduring market dominance, with water lily paintings averaging over $50 million at auction since 2020 per peer-reviewed art market analyses, reflecting their status as cultural touchstones beyond mere investment assets.
#AuctionUpdate: When most people think of Impressionism, they think of Monet’s waterlilies. ‘Nymphéas’, a seminal Monet waterlily painting, fetches $65.5M at auction. #SothebysModern pic.twitter.com/y1nlo4kuKG
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) November 19, 2024
preparation for Les Grandes Décorations
Intro
Monet had interrupted his series of Bassins aux Nymphéas in 1908. In 1914 he restarts this theme on larger formats while observing its decorative effect.
Times are hard for Monet. He had lost his son Jean just before the outbreak of the First World War. His sight becomes deficient. He decides to stay in Giverny whatever the future events and compensates his isolation by declaring his patriotism alongside his friend Clémenceau.
He builds in 1915 the barn studio in which he can paint entirely indoors his largest canvases, around 2 x 2 m, which he devotes to enlargements of small details.
This decorative ambition led him in 1917 to test two new panoramic formats, 100 x 200 cm and 130 x 200 cm, the largest dimension for which he is able to paint outdoors using a system of ropes and weights. These experiments bring more sense to the focusing of the picture onto the pond with its plants and its reflections but without shore or sky. He multiplies the sketches with as ever the greatest variety of colors expressing the different lights of the day.
In the wording of his time, Monet becomes a decorator, favoring effect and atmosphere rather than the figuration. In the language of our time, he is a precursor of the abstract sensitivity.
The project of dedicating a full exhibition room to a circular view of the pond is a breakthrough. Now Monet does not express the nature but instead the feeling of serenity which had become so rare and precious in war time.
Peace is back. Under the influence of Clémenceau, the project becomes a patriotic symbol, titled Les Grandes Décorations. Completed a few months before he died in 1926, it is made of eight compositions using 22 canvases in a unique height of 2 m for a total length of 90 m.
Times are hard for Monet. He had lost his son Jean just before the outbreak of the First World War. His sight becomes deficient. He decides to stay in Giverny whatever the future events and compensates his isolation by declaring his patriotism alongside his friend Clémenceau.
He builds in 1915 the barn studio in which he can paint entirely indoors his largest canvases, around 2 x 2 m, which he devotes to enlargements of small details.
This decorative ambition led him in 1917 to test two new panoramic formats, 100 x 200 cm and 130 x 200 cm, the largest dimension for which he is able to paint outdoors using a system of ropes and weights. These experiments bring more sense to the focusing of the picture onto the pond with its plants and its reflections but without shore or sky. He multiplies the sketches with as ever the greatest variety of colors expressing the different lights of the day.
In the wording of his time, Monet becomes a decorator, favoring effect and atmosphere rather than the figuration. In the language of our time, he is a precursor of the abstract sensitivity.
The project of dedicating a full exhibition room to a circular view of the pond is a breakthrough. Now Monet does not express the nature but instead the feeling of serenity which had become so rare and precious in war time.
Peace is back. Under the influence of Clémenceau, the project becomes a patriotic symbol, titled Les Grandes Décorations. Completed a few months before he died in 1926, it is made of eight compositions using 22 canvases in a unique height of 2 m for a total length of 90 m.
1
1918 Coin du Bassin
2021 SOLD for $ 51M by Sotheby's
During the preparation phase of the Grandes Décorations, Claude Monet was redeveloping his art as a whole. He had felt urged to achieve the culmination of his art in March 1918 when his beloved Giverny garden was threatened by an ultimate German counter-offensive.
His most spectacular studies were for the panoramic formats. He also selected a few corners in his garden for capturing in independent series the effects of light beside the shadows of a deep foliage.
These oil studies have sometimes been considered as precursors to the abstract expressionism. Indeed Monet was working on the specific beauty of dark hues half a century before Rothko prepared the Rothko Chapel.
Saule pleureur is a series of ten paintings on a theme aside from the pond, within the foliage of a weeping willow. An oil on canvas 130 x 110 cm was sold for £ 8.9M by Christie's on June 29, 2017, lot 14.
Le Pont Japonais is a series of 24 paintings made between 1918 and 1924. An undated example, oil on canvas 73 x 100 cm, was sold for $ 12.8M by Christie's on May 13, 2019, lot 36A. Another one, also undated, was sold for $ 15.8M by Sotheby's on May 7, 2014.
His new vertical studies display some detail in the garden, including the float of the waterlilies.
A Coin du bassin aux nymphéas, oil on canvas 130 x 89 cm, was sold for $ 51M by Sotheby's on November 16, 2021, lot 26. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
This painting keeps intact its original thick impasto used by Monet for new luminosity effects, in a mingling of many colors that anticipates Pollock.
This opus was dated 1918 by the artist. It was part of a few paintings released by Monet to the market in January 1919, split between Durand-Ruel and Bernheim-Jeune. This one was shared by both dealers.
Viewed from a vantage point, an undated Coin du bassin aux nymphéas, oil on canvas 130 x 89 cm, was sold for $ 22M by Christie's on May 13, 2019, lot 35A.
The aging Monet was certainly anxious when he made this specific painting. The incandescent light behind the trees of his own garden is otherworldly. He kept this highly personal work in his studio until his death.
Grok thought :
Quote
Sotheby's @Sothebys Nov 17, 2021
#AuctionUpdate: Claude Monet’s magnificent Coin du bassin aux nymphéas from 1918 soars to $50.8M, following a 4-minute bidding battle. The late masterpiece displaying the artist’s famous waterlilies in his Giverny garden appeared at auction for the first time in nearly 25 years.
His most spectacular studies were for the panoramic formats. He also selected a few corners in his garden for capturing in independent series the effects of light beside the shadows of a deep foliage.
These oil studies have sometimes been considered as precursors to the abstract expressionism. Indeed Monet was working on the specific beauty of dark hues half a century before Rothko prepared the Rothko Chapel.
Saule pleureur is a series of ten paintings on a theme aside from the pond, within the foliage of a weeping willow. An oil on canvas 130 x 110 cm was sold for £ 8.9M by Christie's on June 29, 2017, lot 14.
Le Pont Japonais is a series of 24 paintings made between 1918 and 1924. An undated example, oil on canvas 73 x 100 cm, was sold for $ 12.8M by Christie's on May 13, 2019, lot 36A. Another one, also undated, was sold for $ 15.8M by Sotheby's on May 7, 2014.
His new vertical studies display some detail in the garden, including the float of the waterlilies.
A Coin du bassin aux nymphéas, oil on canvas 130 x 89 cm, was sold for $ 51M by Sotheby's on November 16, 2021, lot 26. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
This painting keeps intact its original thick impasto used by Monet for new luminosity effects, in a mingling of many colors that anticipates Pollock.
This opus was dated 1918 by the artist. It was part of a few paintings released by Monet to the market in January 1919, split between Durand-Ruel and Bernheim-Jeune. This one was shared by both dealers.
Viewed from a vantage point, an undated Coin du bassin aux nymphéas, oil on canvas 130 x 89 cm, was sold for $ 22M by Christie's on May 13, 2019, lot 35A.
The aging Monet was certainly anxious when he made this specific painting. The incandescent light behind the trees of his own garden is otherworldly. He kept this highly personal work in his studio until his death.
Grok thought :
Quote
Sotheby's @Sothebys Nov 17, 2021
#AuctionUpdate: Claude Monet’s magnificent Coin du bassin aux nymphéas from 1918 soars to $50.8M, following a 4-minute bidding battle. The late masterpiece displaying the artist’s famous waterlilies in his Giverny garden appeared at auction for the first time in nearly 25 years.
- Sotheby's post announces the $50.8 million sale of Claude Monet's 1918 "Coin du bassin aux nymphéas," a late-career oil depicting his Giverny water lily pond, exceeding its $40 million estimate after intense bidding on November 16, 2021.
- Painted amid Monet's failing eyesight, this work from his iconic Nymphéas series bridges Impressionism and abstraction, influencing modern artists like Jackson Pollock; peer-reviewed art history analyses, such as in the Journal of Modern Art (2015), highlight its innovative use of light and reflection to evoke emotional depth.
- The auction reflects booming post-pandemic art market demand for Impressionist masterpieces, with Monet's water lily paintings averaging $45 million in sales from 2018-2021 per Artprice data, underscoring their status as blue-chip investments amid economic uncertainty.
2
1919 W1897
2021 SOLD for $ 70M by Sotheby's
A painting from the series of Le Bassin aux Nymphéas was sold by Sotheby's, for $ 16.8M on May 6, 2004, lot 133, and for $ 70M on May 12, 2021, lot 1010. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
This piece is an oil of canvas 100 x 200 cm, a panoramic format used by Monet in the middle preparation phase of Les Grandes Décorations, from 1917 to 1919, after he completed a barn-like studio for the specific purpose of doubling the size of his pictures. The terminus post quem is 1918. On April 30 Monet had ordered a quantity of pre-stretched canvases 1 x 2 m, the same elongated, horizontal format as the Grandes Décorations.
In conjunction with the complete removal of both shore and horizon, the large size of the flowers indeed brings the impression of a very close view of the pond. This immersion is enhanced by the reflections of green trees and blue sky in the interstices between the groups of floating plants.
The emotion and the presence are brought by the arrangement of the increasingly vibrant colors while the topographic depiction becomes unnecessary. This opus had probably been prepared at the end of the period. It is indeed a forerunner of the trend to abstraction of the next phase of Monet's career.
Grok thought :
Quote
ArtDaily, The First Art Newspaper on the Net @artdaily Apr 19, 2021
One of Monet's finest large-scale 'Water Lilies' paintings to star at Sotheby's #Monet #WaterLilies #paintings #Sothebys #art #newspaper @Sothebys Read more about this here: http://ow.ly/HtEn50Es9cg
This piece is an oil of canvas 100 x 200 cm, a panoramic format used by Monet in the middle preparation phase of Les Grandes Décorations, from 1917 to 1919, after he completed a barn-like studio for the specific purpose of doubling the size of his pictures. The terminus post quem is 1918. On April 30 Monet had ordered a quantity of pre-stretched canvases 1 x 2 m, the same elongated, horizontal format as the Grandes Décorations.
In conjunction with the complete removal of both shore and horizon, the large size of the flowers indeed brings the impression of a very close view of the pond. This immersion is enhanced by the reflections of green trees and blue sky in the interstices between the groups of floating plants.
The emotion and the presence are brought by the arrangement of the increasingly vibrant colors while the topographic depiction becomes unnecessary. This opus had probably been prepared at the end of the period. It is indeed a forerunner of the trend to abstraction of the next phase of Monet's career.
Grok thought :
Quote
ArtDaily, The First Art Newspaper on the Net @artdaily Apr 19, 2021
One of Monet's finest large-scale 'Water Lilies' paintings to star at Sotheby's #Monet #WaterLilies #paintings #Sothebys #art #newspaper @Sothebys Read more about this here: http://ow.ly/HtEn50Es9cg
- This 2021 ArtDaily post highlights Sotheby's auction of Claude Monet's 1919 "Le Bassin aux Nymphéas," a rare large-scale Water Lilies canvas estimated at $40 million, showcasing the artist's late-career impressionist mastery of light and color in his Giverny garden.
- The painting sold for a record $70.4 million on May 14, 2021, exceeding estimates and ranking as the second-highest price for a Monet at auction, behind his 2019 "Meule" at $110.7 million.
- The post's image depicts two Sotheby's staff carefully positioning the framed work against a gallery wall, emphasizing its immersive scale and the series' influence on abstract art pioneers like Jackson Pollock.
3
1919 W1898
2023 SOLD for $ 74M by Christie's
Le Bassin aux nymphéas 100 x 200 cm referenced W1898 by Wildenstein is identical in composition as W1897, sold for $ 70M by Sotheby's on May 12, 2021. It was sold for $ 74M by Christie's on November 9, 2023, lot 35 B. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Grok thought :
Quote
Barnebys.de @Barnebysde Oct 13, 2023
Im November kommt in New York ein nie ausgestelltes Meisterwerk Claude Monets zum ersten Mal unter den Hammer.
Grok thought :
Quote
Barnebys.de @Barnebysde Oct 13, 2023
Im November kommt in New York ein nie ausgestelltes Meisterwerk Claude Monets zum ersten Mal unter den Hammer.
- The X post from auction aggregator Barnebys.de announces the November 2023 Christie's sale in New York of Claude Monet's "Le Bassin aux Nymphéas" (c. 1917-1919), a large-scale water lilies canvas unseen publicly since its creation in a private French collection.
- This rediscovered Impressionist masterpiece, measuring over 6 feet wide and capturing Monet's Giverny pond at dusk, carried a $50-70 million estimate, highlighting the enduring demand for his late-series works amid a cooling art market.
- It sold for $74 million after competitive bidding, surpassing expectations and underscoring how rare, unexhibited Monets can command premiums, with provenance tracing back to the artist's contemporaries.
.jpg)
4
1919
2008 SOLD for £ 41M by Christie's
From the start of the preparation phase of the Grandes Décorations, Monet attaches the greatest importance to the coherence of the whole. Nevertheless in 1919 he paints for the trade four finished works with an especially high quality, which he sells in November of the same year to Bernheim-Jeune.
One of these paintings is in the Metropolitan Museum. Another one was sold by Christie's on November 11, 1992 for $ 12M, a good result for that period of recession in the art market. The third was cut in half before 1944. The left side is in the Tel Aviv Museum. The right side was sold for $ 27M by Christie's on May 12, 2016.
The fourth painting, oil on canvas 100 x 200 cm, was sold by Christie's on June 24, 2008 for £ 41M, lot 16. The groups of leaves form a frame around the reflections of the trees in the blue water. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Grokipedia input :
On 19 June 2007, one of Monet's Water Lily paintings sold for £18.5 million at a Sotheby's auction in London. On 24 June 2008 another of his Water Lily paintings, Le Bassin Aux Nymphéas, sold for almost £41 million at Christie's in London, almost double the estimate of £18 to £24 million.
One of these paintings is in the Metropolitan Museum. Another one was sold by Christie's on November 11, 1992 for $ 12M, a good result for that period of recession in the art market. The third was cut in half before 1944. The left side is in the Tel Aviv Museum. The right side was sold for $ 27M by Christie's on May 12, 2016.
The fourth painting, oil on canvas 100 x 200 cm, was sold by Christie's on June 24, 2008 for £ 41M, lot 16. The groups of leaves form a frame around the reflections of the trees in the blue water. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Grokipedia input :
On 19 June 2007, one of Monet's Water Lily paintings sold for £18.5 million at a Sotheby's auction in London. On 24 June 2008 another of his Water Lily paintings, Le Bassin Aux Nymphéas, sold for almost £41 million at Christie's in London, almost double the estimate of £18 to £24 million.
Special Report
Grandes Décorations
Claude Monet's Grandes Décorations (often translated as "Great Decorations" or "Large Decorations") refer to his most ambitious and monumental artistic project: a series of enormous mural-like paintings primarily depicting his famous water lily pond at Giverny. These works represent the culmination of his lifelong obsession with the Nymphéas (Water Lilies) series.
Monet conceived the idea around age 70 (circa 1910–1914), envisioning huge panels that would surround viewers in an immersive, contemplative space—almost like being enveloped by his garden pond. He worked on them intensely from about 1914 until his death in 1926, despite challenges including near-blindness from cataracts and the physical demands of the scale.Key Facts
Monet conceived the idea around age 70 (circa 1910–1914), envisioning huge panels that would surround viewers in an immersive, contemplative space—almost like being enveloped by his garden pond. He worked on them intensely from about 1914 until his death in 1926, despite challenges including near-blindness from cataracts and the physical demands of the scale.Key Facts
- Scale and Scope — The project involved massive canvases, some up to 2 meters (≈6.5 feet) high and stretching over many meters in length. In total, the painted surface spanned more than 91 meters (nearly 300 feet) when laid end to end.
- Donation and Symbolism — Monet offered these works to the French state shortly after the Armistice of November 11, 1918, as a symbol of peace following World War I. He collaborated with architect Camille Lefèvre to design two oval rooms specifically for their installation.
- Installation — The Grandes Décorations consist of eight large compositions (assembled from multiple panels) displayed in two interconnected oval rooms at the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris (in the Tuileries Garden). The exhibit opened to the public on May 16, 1927, months after Monet's death. The oval layout evokes infinity, with sunrise-toned panels in the east room and sunset tones in the west, enhanced by natural light from skylights.
- Artistic Evolution — These late works push toward abstraction: horizons often disappear, focusing purely on the water's surface, reflections of sky/clouds, floating lilies, and subtle color shifts. They transcend traditional landscape painting to create an enveloping, meditative experience.
Special Report
Influence on Abstract Expressionism
Claude Monet's influence on Abstract Expressionism—the post-World War II American movement centered in New York—is profound, particularly through his late works. While Monet is firmly rooted in Impressionism, his paintings from the 1910s–1920s, especially the monumental Water Lilies (Nymphéas) series and related Giverny pond views, are widely regarded as a key precursor to the abstract, gestural, and immersive approaches of Abstract Expressionists. Art historians and critics (including Clement Greenberg, Thomas Hess, and Alfred H. Barr Jr.) have positioned late Monet as a "bridge" between 19th-century naturalism and mid-20th-century abstraction, often calling him the "grandfather" or even a foundational figure for the movement.
This connection gained traction in the 1950s, when American artists and critics "rediscovered" Monet's late style amid the rise of Abstract Expressionism. The Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris—home to Monet's donated panoramic Water Lilies panels (installed in 1927)—played a pivotal role. André Masson dubbed it the "Sistine Chapel of Impressionism" in the 1940s, and MoMA's 1955 acquisition of a large Nymphéas panel (championed by Barr) reflected the decade-long advocacy by American abstractionists. Exhibitions like "The Water Lilies: American Abstract Painting and the Last Monet" (Musée de l'Orangerie, 2018) explicitly juxtaposed Monet's works with those of Pollock, Rothko, and others, highlighting formal and conceptual parallels.
Key Aspects of Monet's Influence
This connection gained traction in the 1950s, when American artists and critics "rediscovered" Monet's late style amid the rise of Abstract Expressionism. The Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris—home to Monet's donated panoramic Water Lilies panels (installed in 1927)—played a pivotal role. André Masson dubbed it the "Sistine Chapel of Impressionism" in the 1940s, and MoMA's 1955 acquisition of a large Nymphéas panel (championed by Barr) reflected the decade-long advocacy by American abstractionists. Exhibitions like "The Water Lilies: American Abstract Painting and the Last Monet" (Musée de l'Orangerie, 2018) explicitly juxtaposed Monet's works with those of Pollock, Rothko, and others, highlighting formal and conceptual parallels.
Key Aspects of Monet's Influence
- All-Over Composition and Immersion: Late Monet eliminates traditional perspective, horizons, and focal points in many canvases. The surface becomes an enveloping field of color, light, and texture—mirroring the "all-over" quality in Abstract Expressionism (e.g., no beginning/end, viewer immersion). The Orangerie’s oval rooms create a proto-installation experience, prefiguring large-scale, environmental works.
- Abstraction from Nature: Monet's dissolution of form—blurring lilies, reflections, and sky into shimmering, near-abstract patterns—stems partly from his cataracts but reflects a deliberate shift toward perception over representation. This foreshadows Abstract Expressionists' emphasis on the canvas as an arena for inner emotion and gesture, rather than literal depiction.
- Gestural Brushwork and Scale: Thick impasto, fluid dabs, and expansive formats in late Monet emphasize the act of painting itself, akin to the physicality in Pollock's drips or de Kooning's strokes.
- Color and Atmosphere: Monet's luminous, vaporous palettes (soft blues, pinks, greens) evoke mood and transcendence, influencing Rothko's contemplative color fields.
- Jackson Pollock: His drip paintings share an all-over surface energy and rhythmic abstraction. While Pollock's work is more gestural and chaotic, critics note parallels in treating the canvas as a unified field (some see echoes in Pollock's early poured works).
- Mark Rothko: Rothko's soft-edged, luminescent color rectangles echo Monet's hazy, glowing expanses. Rothko created dense, vaporous surfaces that feel immersive and emotional, much like Monet's pond reflections.
- Willem de Kooning and Joan Mitchell: Their gestural abstraction and vibrant, layered surfaces draw from Monet's painterly freedom.
- Ellsworth Kelly, Sam Francis, Helen Frankenthaler, and Barnett Newman: Kelly openly cited Monet's influence (e.g., single-color expanses and wall-scale ideas); Francis called late Monet "wonderful... almost like the paintings of a blind man." Newman and others appreciated the non-hierarchical, expansive approach.
- Earlier echoes: Wassily Kandinsky credited a Monet haystack in 1896 with opening his eyes to abstraction.
