This is a view of Claude Monet standing in his first studio amidst his favorite canvases. The light of the afternoon is almost palpable.
This room located in his main house at Giverny was turned into his sitting-room after 1890.
When Monet became successful, he built a new house in the corner of his garden, where he moved his studio. He had now a well lit large room to work in and to store his paintings. The former studio became a place where he used to have a liquor after lunch, where he would sit to read a gardening book or a novel by Maupassant. Monet also used to write many letters.
The paintings for sale where displayed in the second studio whereas he kept the ones he cherished too much to sell them in the first studio.
The picture was made in springtime according to the tulips behind Monet. The photo reveals how much the painter loved flowers. There were at least six vases in his studio on this day!