On a recent short trip to Paris, I spent a morning taking the train from the St. Lazare train station to the town of Vernon, about 45 miles southwest of Paris. Once there, a quick 10-minute bus ride took me to the sleepy little village of Giverny.
Just outside the village lay the Maison et Jardins de Claude Monet - the house and gardens of Claude Monet, the master of Impressionism. Since Monet is one of my favorite artists, it was very exciting to be transported in time to a place where he lived and painted many of his great masterpieces.
Claude Monet lived in his home at Giverny for forty-three years, from 1883 to 1926. During this very long time, he layed out the house to his own tastes, adapting it to the needs of his family and professional life. He loved the use of color and it was he that chose the pink color of the walls and the green shutters for the outside of the house.
Unfortunately, no photographs were allowed inside his homes so I'll give you a brief description here. It was a very long house and decorated very simply but beautifully; many rooms painted in cheerful hues of blues and yellows. The house was warm and welcoming and lived in fully by his family of ten. The kitchen was especially inviting with blue walls, French tiles and an array of sparkling copper pots and pans hanging on the walls. A doorway off the kitchen led into a wonderful yellow dining room that contained a country-sized eating table where his family and guests were fed and entertained. Claude's studio walls were covered with Japanese paintings, which he collected for 50 years. Other walls bore paintings by the likes of his friends, Pizzarro, Cezanne, Renoir, Morisot, Manet, Sisley....
Of course, it was the gardens that inspired many of his paintings and I can certainly understand why! Come with me on a gentle stroll amongst the flower gardens and the ponds ....
Monet didn't particularly like organized gardens and the gardens still remain somewhat haphazard - in a most-inviting way!
It's the last part of the season for the water lilies to bloom and, according to a passer-by that I overheard, they bloom in the afternoon. Since I was there first thing in the morning, I missed the blooms - but, happily, I think I missed the masses of tourists, too. A welcome trade-off for me!
Surely, all the reflections off the water inspired his style of painting. And it's not hard to figure out where Monet's love of color came from....
The house and gardens are open 7 months out of the year and, no matter what time of the year you visit, there is an array of breathtaking color and variety of flowers.
Departing from Monet's house and garden, I meandered through the sleepy village on my way back to the bus. Seems everyone wants to keep up with the Monets with their beautiful gardens and flower boxes and
even this mail box!
