Artwork Page for Spring Flowers

Details / Information for Spring Flowers

Spring Flowers

1864

Claude Monet

(French, 1840–1926)
Culture
France, 19th century
Medium
oil on fabric
Measurements
Framed: 144.5 x 117.2 x 12.1 cm (56 7/8 x 46 1/8 x 4 3/4 in.); Unframed: 116.8 x 90.5 cm (46 x 35 5/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of the Hanna Fund 1953.155
Public Domain
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Location
On view at Musée d'art moderne André Malraux, 76600 Le Havre, Jun 5, 2026 - Sep 27, 2026
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Did You Know?

Monet is quoted as saying, "I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers." He painted this work in 1864, the first productive year of his career.

Description

This early work reveal's Monet's fascination with capturing the transitory effects that became the primary focus of his later innovations. Painted with almost scientific accuracy, this still life has a freshness and immediacy derived partly from its composition. Isolated against a dark background, the fully mature peonies, potted hydrangeas, and basketed lilacs spill downward and outward from the geraniums at the rear. At the same time, Monet's energetic brushwork conveys the sparkling play of light on leaves and petals.
A vertically oriented oil painting depicts clusters of flowers against a dark background. In the lower right, white-pink peonies with fluffy clusters of petals lie on the ground surrounded by other flowers. Above are clusters of small blue lilacs over which bushy pink geraniums grow. Left, potted hydrangeas cluster in puffs of pale white and purple petals. Green leaves extend upward to hazy, red geraniums merging with the darkness of the background.

Spring Flowers

1864

Claude Monet

(French, 1840–1926)
France, 19th century

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