Claude Monet's Water Garden

by Mary Lynn Giacomini

Title

Claude Monet's Water Garden

Artist

Mary Lynn Giacomini

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Photography By Mary Lynn Giacomini
Photographed Claude Monet’s Water Garden, Giverny France
Topaz Studio

After visiting the gardens you could see what Monet found so fascinating and why he was so inspired by his flower gardens and the beautiful water gardens. I too found fascination and inspiration from the flowers, the gorgeous water gardens, reflections and the light he found so intriguing.

There are two parts in Monet's garden: a flower garden called Clos Normand in front of the house and a Japanese inspired water garden on the other side of the road.

The two parts of Monet's garden contrast and complement one another.
When Monet and his family settled in Giverny in 1883 the  piece of land sloping gently down from the house to the road was planted with an orchard and enclosed by high stone walls. A central alley bordered with pines separated it into two parts the water garden and the flower garden.

In 1893, ten years after his arrival at Giverny, Monet bought the piece of land neighboring his property on the other side of the railway. It was crossed by a small brook, the Ru, which is a diversion of the Epte, a tributary of the Seine River. With the support of the prefecture, Monet had the first small pond dug; even though his neighbors were opposed. They were afraid that his strange plants would poison the water.

Later on the pond would be enlarged to its present day size. The water garden is full of asymmetries and curves. It is inspired by the Japanese gardens that Monet knew from the prints he collected avidly.

In this water garden you will find the famous Japanese bridge covered with wisterias, other smaller bridges, weeping willows, a bamboo wood and above all the famous nympheas which bloom all summer long. Never before had a painter so shaped his subjects in nature before painting them. And so he created his works twice. Monet would find his inspiration in this water garden for more than twenty years. After the Japanese bridge series, he would devote himself to the giant decorations of the Orangerie. Always looking for mist and transparencies, Monet would dedicate himself less to flowers than to reflections in water, a kind of inverted world transfigured by the liquid element.

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March 13th, 2020

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