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Welcome to Giverny (1)
"It is necessary to go on a pilgrimage to Giverny, this sanctuary teeming with flowers, in order to understand the Master better, to grasp the sources of his inspiration and to imagine him still alive among us" (Gerald Van der Kemp, first curator of Claude Monet Foundation.)
Monet's first studio was inside the house: this room was later transformed into a drawing room where coffee was served after lunch and where Monet would exhibit his latest paintings. In 1899, he had a new studio built on the western side of the domain (on your left when you look at the house; not open to the public) and in 1916, a third one (now the museum shop) specially built for the large canvasses (called 'Décorations des Nymphéas') which he started painting in his later years.
Do not miss the visit of the house. it is not only a house but also the epitome of Monet's life. A friend of his, Gustave Geffroy, wrote:" This house is modest and yet sumptuous with the indoor arrangement and those of the garden - or rather of the gardens. He who designed this familiar and magnificent universe is not only great as an artist but also as the designer of a setting in which he enjoyed living. This house and its garden is also a work of art and Monet devoted all his life to creating it and bringing it to perfection."
Visitors often especially remember the dining room (Monet's own decoration) and the kitchen (blue wall tiles) where it is easy to evoke the master's social life when he treated such guests as Renoir - the famous painter - or a close friend of his, the Prime Minister, Georges Clemenceau. The Norman garden, the one around the house, was gradually transformed by Monet who personally supervised everything. Like the Norman garden, the water garden is full of rare plants that Monet ordered from all over the world.
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In 1893, Monet
bought a patch of ground on the other side of the small railway line
that passed at the bottom of the garden (now a road) in order to create
a 'water garden' with a pond where he would later paint his famous water
lilies.
When the weather was too bad, Monet would grumble because he could not work in the garden. During the 1910 flood - one of the worst in history- which ruined the garden, Monet broke into tears. Dappled with playful light, shape and movement, this garden was an ongoing project to which Monet dedicated his life. Over the seasons, he transformed the garden, little by little, designing alleys, planting numerous types of plants and flowers making sure they would bloom all the year round. He had seven full-time gardeners and was very meticulous and demanding; everything had to be pristine. Such is the place that Monet loved so much and that he had to leave in 1926, aged 86. Next page >>
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