Living in a Painting
The Dream of Maison de Claude Monet
The Dream of Maison de Claude Monet
As a kid, around six or seven, I fell in love with the style and beauty of Claude Monet paintings. For my birthday one year, I hung a poster with a grainy image of the famed water lily painting. Later on, I would visit the Art Institute of Chicago to see the impressionist painting in real life. To tell my younger self I had now been to the painted pond, stood on the bridge, and wandered the halls of Claude Monets house; I would have never dreamed the place of oil paint truly existed.
The summer of 2022 had come and amid a backpacking trip across Europe, I found myself in Paris. A little over an hour away – Giverny, France, home to the Maison de Claude Monet. Even for those of you, who like me, only knew of the painter through his most famous works, his home is breathtaking to experience and explore.
Covering around one-hectare/2.5 acres, the grounds are surrounded by flower and water gardens. As I wove through the rows of roses a picturesque green and pink house stands in the back of the garden. This is his home, each room a different color, each view prettier than the last.
Pro Posing Tip- Find a Frame
Place yourself in a doorway, archway, or window (pictured on right) to create natural framing in your pictures!
The Flower Garden
When I originally pictured myself in Giverny I thought of a lily pond and a house. As the house was built in the late 1800’s, I expected a quaint cottage posed along well-kept flower rows. Instead, I was greeted by a small mansion and walkways through spilling rows of free flowers. Claude Monet’s art didn’t bend to the social norms of the time and neither did his lush gardens. He believed in planting the seeds and letting them freely grow, only coordinating patches by the color of the plant.
Many people could see this technique of gardening as chaos and in many cases, it could become just that. The beauty of the Giverny gardens comes from the play of symmetry and asymmetrical structures. Iron arches are placed as growing structures for climbing roses around the grounds, mirroring the architecture and style of many famous Parisian landmarks. The natural frame draws the eye to look through them, like a window into the garden, creating a more serene effect than the piles of grasses, leaves, and ferns spilling on to graveled pathways would usually display.
I spent about an hour taking in the beauty of the flower beds. This also included my time wandering throughout each room of the house, home to the most beautiful view overlooking all of the gardens. However beautiful this sight was, something was missing. The famed water lily pond. I found a map depicting that the grounds are broken up into two sides divided by a road in-between. Crossing underneath the countryside highway, I had arrived at the main event.
“The bridge was in full bloom allowing me to pretend I was the prime subject of a Claude Monet painting.”
Giverny, France
The Water Garden
The area of land that holds the water garden is located on top of a stream that feeds into the Seine River. Discovering this source of water, Monet dug a small pond where the water lilies and Japanese bridge now sit. First entering the garden, I was amazed by the size of the pond, though I later learned it has been enlarged since the time Monet painted it.
Similarly to the flower gardens, symmetry and asymmetry plays with the eye as I wandered throughout the rest of the pond area. Curves shape the pond making each angle a new view then the last. Bamboo wood also plays largely into the appeal of the water garden as it marks the entrance to the trail looping the pond. The feel of bamboo immediately transported me to the mindset of traveling throughout Asia, a style which heavily influenced the plant and architecture choices.
From the opposing side to the painted shot, sits another bridge to view the centerpiece, a green bridge covered in wisteria flowers. This angle poses the perfect view of the lilies… my time of visiting happened to be during the planting and restoration of the water lilies meaning not many were floating in the water. Despite the absence of many lilies, the bridge was in full bloom allowing me to pretend I was the prime subject of a Claude Monet painting.
Giverny ended up being the hidden treasure of my trip to France and personally I considered it prettier than Paris! There are buses and trains from Paris, you can take a day tour, or consider spending a night in the town! One day to explore the gardens is perfect to feel immersed in this beautiful place!
Traveler Tip- Time Your Visit Just Right
The Gardens are closed from November to April each year. The flowers are in best bloom during spring/summer (May or June). I personally visited in June to capture the shots you see. For more information and ticket pricing visit- Claude Monet’s garden at Giverny
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