Jean Monet on His Horse Tricycle

The artwork

Monet never exhibited this portrait of his son Jean on his horse tricycle: he kept it with him all his life. You receive it printed on handmade Amalfi paper, in a handmade frame.

• Jean, aged five, astride his little horse on wheels on the garden path.
• The white of his outfit against the dark green of the garden: cheerful and bright.
• A gift for a child's room, or for new parents.

In the summer of 1872 Jean, Monet's elder son, was five years old. The family had just returned to France: during the war between France and Prussia Monet had stayed abroad, in London and in Holland. On his return the art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel was buying his paintings, and with that money Monet was able to rent a house with a garden at Argenteuil, just outside Paris.

In that garden he painted Jean on his toy, a wooden horse with three wheels and pedals. The boy is posing, serious, with his hat on, and the background of dark leaves sets off his light-coloured clothes. The picture was never shown at an exhibition: Monet kept it for himself to the end of his days. The original is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

In a child's room or a corridor it brings the joy of an afternoon of play. It is a gift for new parents, or for a grandparent who remembers their first toys.

Unique quality material

Print on handmade Amalfi paper
Sheet size: 29 x 42 cm (11.4 x 16.5 in)
With frame: 31 x 44 cm (12.2 x 17.3 in)
Material: artwork printed on very fine handmade Amalfi paper with deckled edges
Frame: dark brown with gold fillet, handmade, with glass