With a passion for gardening as well as an interest in colors, Claude Monet, founder of Impressionism, constructed both his water garden and flower garden (see post here) as true works of art. Walking through his gardens, over Japanese bridges and through rows of flowers, you can marvel at the floral compositions and at the infamous nymphéas, his greatest sources of inspiration. A cycle of Monet’s water-lily paintings, known as the Nympheas, was arranged on the ground floor of the Musee d’Orangerie in 1927 – these enormous paintings can be still seen today (see previous post here).
It took me some time to understand my nymphéas…..I grew them without thinking of painting them . You cannot become immersed in a landscape in a single day…And then, all of a sudden, I had the revelation of theenchantments of my pond….I took my palette. Since then, I have had almost no other model. - Claude Monet
Visit the Fondation Claude Monet in Giverny at 84, rue Claude Monet, 27620 Giverny, France. The foundation is open everyday from the April 1st to November 1st from 9.30 to 18.30. For more information, visit the website. For more information about the village of Giverny, visit the tourist website.
PS. I love Nichole Robertson’s post of Giverny, see it here on her blog, littlebrownpen!
