{"id":206314,"date":"2026-08-27T10:24:24","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T08:24:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/svetslik.si\/nekategorizirano\/rouen-cathedral-portal-front-view-2\/"},"modified":"2026-09-11T07:03:55","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T05:03:55","slug":"rouen-cathedral-portal-front-view","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/svetslik.si\/en\/claude-monet\/rouen-cathedral-portal-front-view\/","title":{"rendered":"Claude Monet \u2013 Rouen Cathedral, the Portal from the Front"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]\n

Rouen Cathedral, the Portal from the Front is a hand-painted reproduction of one of Monet\u2019s views of the Rouen fa\u00e7ade: the front fills the canvas edge to edge, the deeply recessed portal opens below, a pale round rose window stands above it, and of the sky only two narrow strips remain in the upper corners. The original measures 74 x 107 cm, is oil on canvas and is held by the Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay in Paris under accession number RF 2779. The museum dates it to 1892, without reservation. We paint it in eight sizes or to your own, with a photograph of the finished work for approval before despatch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Title:<\/td>\nRouen Cathedral, the Portal from the Front<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Other titles:<\/td>\nLa Cath\u00e9drale de Rouen. Le Portail vu de face ; Harmonie brune (the name in the museum record, with both parts)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Painter:<\/td>\nClaude Monet (1840\u20131926)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Year of execution:<\/td>\n1892 by the museum record; the canvas reads \u201cClaude Monet 94\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Original size:<\/td>\n74 cm x 107 cm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Original technique:<\/td>\nOil on canvas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Painting style:<\/td>\nImpressionism, a series<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Location:<\/td>\nMus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay, Paris (acc. no. RF 2779)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Our reproduction:<\/td>\nHand-painted oil on canvas, eight sizes or made to measure<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Rouen Cathedral, the Portal from the Front \u2013 Claude Monet<\/h2>\n

What is on the canvas?<\/h3>\n

The fa\u00e7ade and nothing else. It reaches all four edges, and of the sky only two narrow triangles remain in the upper corners. At the bottom centre the great portal opens: a pointed arch set deep into the wall, with a series of receding arches one behind another and a dark door at the back. Above the main arch hangs a pale round rose window, and above that rises the pierced gable with stone flowers. The colours are greyish violet in the upper half, warm brown and brick in the portals below. The paint is thick and grainy, so the surface of the canvas is almost as rough as the stone it shows. There are no figures. At the lower left a signature is written in a reddish colour.<\/p>\n

What does \u201cHarmonie brune\u201d mean?<\/h3>\n

It is the second part of the name the museum itself gives the work. Its record reads \u201cLa Cath\u00e9drale de Rouen. Le Portail vu de face ; Harmonie brune\u201d \u2014 two names separated by the museum\u2019s own semicolon: the first says what is painted and from where, the second in what key of colour. All five Rouen cathedrals this museum holds carry such a second part: harmonie brune, harmonie grise, harmonie bleue, harmonie blanche and harmonie bleue et or. That second part is what tells the canvases apart, which is why we print it in the table beside the first.<\/p>\n

How is the work dated, and what does the canvas say?<\/h3>\n

The museum dates it to 1892, with no range and no cautious \u201caround\u201d, so we give the year without reservation. The canvas itself says something else: at the lower left, in a reddish colour, a signature we read as \u201cClaude Monet 94\u201d. The museum record lists no inscription \u2014 the field is empty \u2014 so the reading is ours, from the museum\u2019s own photograph, and not a transcription from the record. We publish both facts, each with its source: the year is the museum\u2019s, the signature comes from the photograph.<\/p>\n

What does the museum record say about the size?<\/h3>\n

The work is held by the Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay<\/a> under accession number RF 2779. It gives the measurements in the order height by width, 107 x 74 cm; our table puts the width first, so here you read 74 x 107 cm. This is a correction: the museum\u2019s height-first form stood here until now, beside our width-first stretcher sizes. With its frame the whole measures 87 x 120 cm. For this work Wikidata agrees with the museum in everything \u2014 the year and both measurements \u2014 which we note deliberately, because on neighbouring works of this series it did not.<\/p>\n

How did the work reach the museum?<\/h3>\n

In a single line, and the line is the museum\u2019s: \u201cAchat a Claude Monet, 1907\u201d \u2014 bought directly from Claude Monet in 1907, fifteen years after the canvas was made and nineteen before the painter died. That sets it apart from the other four Rouen cathedrals in the same collection, which came with the bequest of Count Isaac de Camondo in 1911. The museum publishes no longer chain of owners for this canvas, so we assemble none either.<\/p>\n

Five Rouen cathedrals in one museum, and why size cannot tell them apart<\/h3>\n

The Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay holds five canvases from the series. Ours is RF 2779, 74 x 107 cm. Beside it stand RF 1999 \u201ctemps gris ; harmonie grise\u201d, 65.4 x 100.2 cm; RF 2000 \u201csoleil matinal ; harmonie bleue\u201d, 63 x 92.2 cm; RF 2001 \u201cle Portail et la Tour Saint-Romain, effet du matin ; harmonie blanche\u201d, 73.2 x 106.5 cm; and RF 2002 \u201cplein soleil ; harmonie bleue et or\u201d<\/a>, 73.5 x 107 cm. That last is five millimetres from ours in width and nothing at all in height \u2014 by size, then, they cannot be separated. The museum\u2019s own name separates them: ours is the portal \u201cfrom the front\u201d, that one is the portal and the Saint-Romain tower.<\/p>\n

Which of our Rouen canvases is this?<\/h3>\n

The one the museum calls harmonie brune, and the one it bought from the painter. The Claude Monet gallery<\/a> carries five more views of the same fa\u00e7ade, each with its own key of colour or its own hour: Rouen Cathedral, Morning Sun<\/a>; Rouen Cathedral, Grey Weather<\/a>; Rouen Cathedral, the Portal and Saint-Romain Tower<\/a>; and Rouen Cathedral, Portal<\/a>. They are close in proportion and not in colour, which is the point of them.<\/p>\n

How is our hand-painted version made?<\/h3>\n

Every order is painted individually by a painter, in oils on cotton or linen canvas. A canvas painting is made here with no print, no transfer and no machine step in between. This motif is demanding because of the paint itself: the stone here is not drawn but built up in thick layers, and if the painter smooths them the fa\u00e7ade turns papery. The colour is therefore laid in coats left to dry part way, so that the next one stays on top. Every hand-painted oil painting that leaves our workshop is a little its own. Before despatch you receive a photograph of the finished work for approval.<\/p>\n

Which size for which wall?<\/h3>\n

Eight sizes are available, from 38 x 55 to 120 x 170 cm. By size the closest to the original is 70 x 100 cm: four centimetres narrower and seven shorter. By proportion the smallest and the third largest are almost identical to it \u2014 38 x 55 cm and 90 x 130 cm differ from the original\u2019s proportion by less than a thousandth. So if you want the right proportion at a large size, the choice is 90 x 130 cm and not 100 x 150 cm, which is bigger but more elongated. The scene is tall and narrow, so it fills a narrow wall. In a hallway 60 x 90 cm works; as a painting for living room walls, 90 x 130 cm.<\/p>\n

Made to measure, stretcher and frame<\/h3>\n

If you want the proportion of the original exactly, or its true size, made to measure is the only route: send us the width and the height<\/a> in centimetres. The canvas can be stretched on a wooden stretcher and delivered ready to hang, or we can send it rolled in a tube. The frame is not included in the price. A narrow frame in muted gold or dark wood suits this scene and does not compete with the stone. The museum keeps its own original in a frame with which the whole measures 87 x 120 cm.<\/p>\n

Delivery and guarantee<\/h3>\n

Making the work normally takes two to three weeks, a few days longer at the largest sizes, because the oil has to dry between layers. If the work arrives damaged, or differs noticeably from the approved photograph, we replace it or refund the price. A hand-painted copy is not a factory product and small differences in the stroke are to be expected; damage or the wrong motif are not. We deliver within the European Union.<\/p>\n

Frequently asked questions<\/h3>\n

Where is the original?<\/h4>\n

In Paris, at the Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay, under accession number RF 2779. The museum bought it in 1907 directly from Claude Monet.<\/p>\n

What year is the work from?<\/h4>\n

The museum gives 1892, without reservation, and so do we. The signature on the canvas, however, we read as \u201cClaude Monet 94\u201d: that is an observation from the photograph, not a figure from the record.<\/p>\n

Why do the year and the signature not agree?<\/h4>\n

The museum record does not explain it, so neither do we. We publish both facts and say where each comes from.<\/p>\n

How many Rouen cathedrals does this museum hold?<\/h4>\n

Five: RF 1999, RF 2000, RF 2001, RF 2002 and ours, RF 2779.<\/p>\n

Is this a print?<\/h4>\n

No. An oil painting reproduction is always painted by hand here, in oils on canvas. We do not sell printed or machine-transferred work.<\/p>\n

Which size should I choose?<\/h4>\n

By size 70 x 100 cm; by proportion 38 x 55 or 90 x 130 cm. Otherwise measure the wall and take about two thirds of its width.<\/p>\n

Can I have a size that is not on the list?<\/h4>\n

Yes. Making the work to your own measurement is usual here, and worth it if you want exactly 74 x 107 cm.<\/p>\n

How does the work reach me?<\/h4>\n

Stretched on the stretcher in a rigid box, or rolled in a tube, as you prefer, with tracking.<\/p>\n

What does the work say in one sentence?<\/h4>\n

That the same stone at another hour is not the same scene, and that Monet proved it by painting the fa\u00e7ade again and again.<\/p>\n

How high should I hang it?<\/h4>\n

The centre about 145 cm above the floor, and above furniture the lower edge 20 to 30 cm above it. We write more about hanging on our blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Does it make a good gift?<\/h4>\n

It does, and if you are unsure which size to choose there is a gift voucher<\/a>, with which the recipient chooses the size and motif of their Monet reproduction.<\/p>\n