Painters [*/ ) The Garden of Claude Monet | Giverny Paintings (1883 -1923)

Dennis Stock, The gardens of Claude Monet, Giverny, 1978

“I must have flowers, always, and always.”

Claude Monet

Claude Monet, Giverny, 1920

“My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece.”

Claude Monet

Claude Monet in the garden of his house at Giverny

Monet settled in Giverny in 1883. He untiringly transformed an abandoned domaine into a floral masterpiece, to be the inspiration for many of his greatest works of art. Monet was not only a painter of his own garden but also an artist whose painting trips took him away for lengthy periods of time. However, he was never really far from his garden . Through constant correspondence, he kept a close eye on his family and his flowers . Frequent visits from his friends and admirers made Giverny the centre of his existence . Until his death in 1926, the painter, the father , the gardener and the man would never really leave Giverny.

Claude Monet, Garden at Giverny, 1895

“And the garden? Are there still flowers? I really hope there will still be chrysanthemums when I come back. If there is a risk of frost, make nice bouquets.”

Monet to his wife Alice

Claude Monet in front of one of the vast canvases of the waterlilies in his garden at Giverny that he painted in the last years of his life, 1923

Claude Monet, Water Lilies, 1904

“It took me some time to understand my water lilies… I cultivated them with no thought of painting them… One does not fully appreciate a landscape in one day… And then, suddenly, I had a revelation of the magic of my pond. I took my palette. From this moment, I have had almost no other model.”

Claude Monet