Monet’s Garden

We’re now at a campsite by the Seine, 30 minutes from Giverny where the impressionist painter Monet lived from 1883 until his death in 1926. Throughout the time he lived there, Monet developed his garden into a showpiece of colour, with features such as a lake and a Japanese bridge, which he used as the subject of many of his paintings.

Monet’s son inherited the property and left it to the French Academy of Fine Arts on his death in 1966. The house and gardens were restored as they were in Monet’s day and were first opened to the public in 1980.

We are visiting in early May, the best time to experience the vibrant spring colours. Many others thought so too, so the entrance queue was a long one but it was well worth the wait. This is a general overview.

The arch running through the centre is particularly attractive.

The beds are themed around groups of colours; in front of the house are red and pink tulips with blue forget-me-nots.

There is a huge number of tulip varieties; here are a few in this collage.

Monet painted in the impressionist style, and it was interesting to see how well my photo shop programme converted a few of my photos into this genre. Instant Monet?

We enter the house now; the rooms are furnished in late 19^th/ early 20^th century style with Monet’s collection of Japanese prints on the walls of many of the rooms. This is Monet’s studio which had copies of his paintings hanging on the walls.

The kitchen’s a cheerful yellow and can be compared with an old photo of Monet himself in the same room. I’m not sure what he would have made of all the tourists.

It’s the garden that really holds our attention, probably because it was the subject of so many of his paintings. We make for lake and the Japanese bridge; it’s beautifully laid out like the rest of the gardens, and the bridge is instantly recognisable especially if given the Monet photo shop treatment.

An overall view of the lake is also worth taking in; he often painted the water lilies here.

Monet’s garden was a stunning experience and so evocative of his paintings. However, he wasn’t the only artist in Giverny in that era: there was a thriving colony of mainly American artists, and these are presented in the Giverny Museum of Impressionism just up the road. Here again there are beautiful gardens, so Monet hasn’t got it all his own way.

Inside was an exhibition of works by Gustave Caillebotte. We’d never heard of him, either. He was apparently a close friend of Monet’s, and a few of his paintings seemed familiar, for example this one. I reckon he’s just dumped the girlfriend over the side and is rowing off for dear life.

Giverny village is pretty but obviously touristy given the numbers of visitors, but it avoids being too tacky and commercialised. This is one of the many cafes and looks very much in keeping with the village setting.

We were lucky, of course, with the time of year and warm sunny weather, but what a delightful day out. It certainly left a lasting impression!