# Water Lilies

**Claude Monet** (French, 1840–1926)  
1906  
Oil on canvas  
89.9 × 94.1 cm (35 3/8 × 37 1/16 in.); Framed: 103.2 × 107 × 5.8 cm (40 5/8 × 42 1/8 × 2 1/4 in.)

Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1933.1157. [The museum's record](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/16568).

## About this work

There is no shoreline and no sky here, only the surface of Monet’s lily pond at Giverny seen up close, with thickly painted pink and white blossoms floating on water that holds reflections of the light above, while a band of shadow falls across the top. From around 1900 Monet devoted himself increasingly to the water garden he had created, painting it in dozens of variations. Removing the horizon turns the picture into an all-over field of colour and reflection, a step towards the vast water lily decorations of his last years.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

Claude Monet painted this in 1906, aged 66. It is now at the Art Institute of Chicago.

### What you’re looking at

Painting of a pond seen up close spotted with thickly painted pink and white water lilies and a shadow across the top third of the picture.

_Description from the Art Institute of Chicago._

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [Claude Monet](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/claude-monet)

French, 1840–1926

Monet grew up in Le Havre, where Eugène Boudin encouraged him to paint outdoors. In Paris he met Renoir, Sisley and Bazille, and his Impression, Sunrise gave the Impressionist movement its name in 1874. He made a lifelong study of changing light, painting the Gare Saint-Lazare, haystacks, poplars and Rouen Cathedral in series. From 1883 he lived at Giverny, where he built the water garden that filled the last three decades of his work.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: France
- The artist was 66
- Real size: about 35 × 37 in (89 × 94 cm). The 24 × 36 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 20th century
- Movement: [Impressionism](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/impressionism)
- Subjects: landscapes, Nymphaea, blue, blue (color), green (color), reflections, weather/seasons, water
- Colour: teal
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/61.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/61/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108; 30 × 40 in $148
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258; 30 × 40 in $338
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148; 24 × 36 in $178; 30 × 40 in $228
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5; 30 × 40 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/water-lilies-aic-16568).