Flashing reds and greens in the soft light of October, this is what Monet’s garden offers in October in the area in front of the painter’s house.
The “Monet green” spreads on benches, shutters, stairs… creating a strong contrast with the formal geranium beds and the virginia creeper on the façade.
Monet’s House in October
December 2, 2011
Monet’s First Studio at Giverny
April 3, 2011
Sixty replicas, that is to say very good copies, have just been hung on the walls of Monet’s first studio at Giverny, making the place even more atmospheric.
Untill last year, visitors could see prints on canvas on the walls. The new copies are now real paintings on canvas. They were made by a French gallery, galerie Trubetskoy in Paris. The chosen pictures were all in Monet’s own collection of his own work in his late years. These were the paintings he loved most and didn’t want to sell.
In addition, all the details of the studio have been checked on old photographs to be as accurate as possible. The result is stunning and really moving.
The village of Giverny
October 23, 2010
Giverny lies west of Paris, 80 km away from the city, in the Seine valley.
The river flows at the bottom of the hill on the background of the picture. It has carved deeply the tender chalk of the plateau, creating steep hills.
The bottom of the valley is floodable, this is why the village was built at the foot of the hill. It stretches over three kilometers along a single street, now named after Claude Monet.
Only a small portion of Giverny can be seen on the photo. (click to enlarge)
Right in the middle, you can see the big studio of Monet, recognizable thanks to the window panes on the roof. On its right, the long pink house with a slated roof is Monet’s home. And on the right of the house, the next building was Monet’s second studio (see the windows on the roof there too).
Behind these three buildings one can notice the garden. The trees on the pond side blend into the nature around, hardly noticeable by their more vibrant colors. And behind Monet’s gardens, fields show that there are good alluvial grounds here.
Nesting in its natural surroundings, Giverny is a rural village in the countryside, living on a slower pace than the big city of Paris. Being a nice day out is one of the assets of an excursion to the home of Claude Monet.
Monet’s Home in Winter
February 6, 2010
During the Winter, when Giverny is closed for five months, the shutters of Monet’s house remain shut.
It must be dark inside, but nobody cares. The shutters prevent the cold wind from entering the building, maintaining a thin layer of warmer air behind the windows.
I don’t know if the japanese prints are still kept hanging on the walls. If they are, darkness is a relief for their fragile colors.
Shut shutters look like closed lids. When it is cold outside, sleeping is the best thing to do, isn’t it?
So do the bulbs hidden in the flower beds and the buds on the branches. Yes, sleeping is the best option before a very long time of intense activity.