“My garden is my most beautiful work of art.” – Claude Monet
Peacefully floating lilies, weeping willows that sway in the wind, drawbridges over babbling brooks and colors as far as the eye can see… It is impossible to separate the famous Giverny garden in Normandy, France with the the artist who brought it into the global spotlight — Claude Monet.
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Monet, like so many other Impressionist painters of the time, had headed to Normandy for its world-famous light. He acquired his beloved property, which features a charming pink house with green shutters (which nowadays, you can even rent out!) in 1890, and for the last 20 years of his life, the setting was his exclusive subject.
The garden is divided into smaller gardens, flower beds — loosely, informally planted and bursting with shapes and colors — and is connected by long alleyways and paths, with notable influences from English and Asian garden designs – the latter of which inspired Giverny’s instantly recognizable “Lily Garden.”
In this video, Royal Academy curator Ann Dumas offers a brief glimpse into the master painter’s deeply influential and treasured abode, but trust that the magic truly needs to be seen to be believed…
Monet’s garden is open to the public from April through November