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Art in the Media
Claude Monet
Monet masterpiece sells at auction for almost £41million
Monet's 'Le bassin aux nympheas' (Water Lily Pond), measuring about two metres in width, is one of Monet's most important works from his series in 1904 of water lilies, pond and bridge, painted at his property at Giverny. With a strong interest in controlled nature Monet became infatuated with light and reflection on water and this particular painting was one of four large scaled paintings signed 1919 that used the water's surface like a mirror, reflecting clouds and foliage.
During this time Monet suffered cataracts and a lot of his earlier water lily paintings had an orange tint which was characteristic of cataract sufferers. After treatment Monet spent time actually re-painting some of these earlier works introducing much deeper bluer colours to the water.
Unlike most of Monet's late work, which remained unfinished in the studio when he died, Le Bassin Aux Nympheas was released by the artist during his lifetime. The remaining three have all found different homes over the years with one being kept in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, another in a private collection and the third unfortunately being cut in two before the Second World War.
'Le bassin aux nympheas' was initially expected to sell for up to £18million to £24million but stunned the art world yesterday when it sold for more than twice that amount by an anonymous buyer at Christies' in London.