Visit To Monet’s Garden
Whenever we visit a place we have heard so much about, we have preconceived ideas about what we expect to see. Take, for example, Monet's Garden in Giverny; there will be flowers and his famous water lily pond. I knew he painted his garden and water lilies, but here are some things I did not know:
I read a quote years ago, Claude Monet said, "My Garden is my most beautiful masterpiece." We are familiar with his artwork and believe his paintings are his masterpieces.
Monet hired seven gardeners to design and maintain his garden with planted rows carefully planned according to color theory and textures, which would change according to the seasons from spring through fall. His paintings' quality of reflection and light were als essential to landscaping.
When we walked through his gardens, it was easy to believe this was always the way it was. However, after he died in 1926, Monet's family could not continue its maintenance, and the gardens perished. Then, during WWII, Allied bombing damaged the rest.
The water garden had also become full of debris, fallen leaves, and banks were disintegrating. It was slowly filling in from neglect. Monet had purchased this adjacent property across the road and damned a small river to create his water garden. It was interesting when we visited; we had an opportunity from a different perspective because my mother had a wheelchair. We were escorted across the road (as Monet would have walked), while most visitors needed to take the stairs to the tunnel underneath the road. When the estate became part of a historical preservation in the late 70's, restoring the gardens took an unbelievable amount of fortitude. The most fascinating thing to me, and a happy surprise, was that the gardens were recreated by studying Monet's paintings! Getting the garden back as close to the original as possible took four years.
The spirit of Monet's Garden is still apparent in his house and gardens. I recognized sketches hanging on his walls for final pieces in museums.
Monet was happiest at his home and in gardens. I can understand why! His garden was his masterpiece, and his masterpieces were of his garden. One cannot separate the two.
