Custom Monet Style Family Portrait, Hand-Painted from Your Photos

Families are rarely in one place at once. A painting can put them there: a summer when everyone was home, a christening, children at the age you keep meaning to remember. Send the photographs you have, and the group is painted by hand in oil.

The Monets at Argenteuil

From 1871 Monet’s own family lived at Argenteuil, and the garden of their rented house became a setting for his paintings. In the summer of 1872 he painted his five-year-old son in that garden, Jean Monet (1867–1913) on His Hobby Horse, and kept the canvas for life without ever exhibiting it. In the Garden, the Artist’s Family is another of his family pictures, set in a garden.

In Woman with a Parasol of 1875 he set the figures at different depths. Camille stands tall in the foreground, while Jean is farther back, partly hidden by a rise in the ground. The same idea helps a family painting: a tall adult in front and a small child behind give the canvas depth, and the group keeps its air.

The result is a new painting in the manner of Claude Monet: it is not an original by him and not a museum reproduction.

How a group is arranged

A family painting works best when the arrangement is clear. The tallest or oldest figures usually anchor the centre or the back, with children in front and the smallest held or seated. If one person is the reason for the commission, say so, and that person can take the best place in the light. Faces turn towards the viewer or towards one another, so no one vanishes behind a shoulder.

Whatever the size, the canvas keeps the shape of the group photograph you pick. More figures call for a larger size, so that every face stays readable.

When nobody has one photograph of everyone

Send one clear photograph of each person, taken outdoors where possible, with a note of who is who. Heights matter more than poses: a grandfather who stoops, a teenager now taller than her mother, a toddler on a lap. Photographs in similar light and at a similar distance join most easily into one scene.

Someone missing, someone new

A relative who has died can be shown at the age the family remembers, and a baby born after the last good photograph can join the group. Send the clearest picture of each and say where each belongs.

Two directions for a group

The faithful direction paints the family as the photograph shows it, in its own room or garden. The Monet-inspired direction keeps every face recognisable and moves the group into open-air light, with the setting reduced to quick touches of colour. It suits a family that lives in its garden or holidays by the sea; a formal studio group is often better left faithful.

Questions about group portraits

How many people can one canvas hold?

There is no fixed number, but each face needs room. For a large group, choose a bigger size and expect a simpler background.

Can a pet join the family?

Yes, as one more figure. Photograph it at its own eye level, in light like the people’s.

What if everyone dresses differently?

Colours are kept as in the photographs unless you ask otherwise. Mismatched clothes are normal in a family and a mix of colours often helps the picture.

Is a garden setting required?

No. A living room or a street works in the faithful direction. The garden setting belongs to the Monet-inspired direction, and a photograph taken outdoors makes it easiest.

Family commission details

Pick a rolled canvas in a tube, a stretched one ready to hang, or a framed one.

• Price: a group of three on the smallest canvas, sent rolled, starts at $305 (30 × 40 cm, rolled canvas). Each further person or pet is an added figure.
• Time at the easel: 2 to 4 weeks.
• A photograph of the finished group reaches you before dispatch, and corrections are possible.
• Delivery once shipped: 5 to 7 business days.
• You can cancel your order at any time until it ships.
• Return period: 30 days.

Just two people? The couple portrait page covers them.

Start a family portrait request