GIVERNY, France -- "It took me some time to understand my water lilies. And then, suddenly, I had the revelation of the magic of my pond ..."-- Claude MonetClaude Monet worked on "Nympheas" in a studio on his estate in this bucolic village just outside of Paris. Part of a series of six large canvases on water lilies that he worked on for 11 years, it was inspired by one of his other projects that could be considered a living piece of art -- the Japanese water garden. Now fully restored, Monet's water garden, adjacent flower garden and home attract roughly 500,000 visitors a year.It's all an easy day trip about 40 miles northwest of Paris and a highly recommended visit.Monet, who was born in Paris in 1840 and became one of the greatest masters of the Impressionist era, spent the second half of his life in Giverny. He fell in love with the village when he spotted it from a train window. He purchased a farmhouse here in 1890 and moved in with his future wife, Alice Hoschede, his two sons and her six children.He turned a Norman apple orchard in front of the house into a geometrically designed flower garden called Clos Normand. On the other side of what were railroad tracks at the time, he created the water garden. It was partly inspired by 32 woodblock Japanese prints he collected in Paris over his lifetime and are now displayed throughout his home. The water garden is fed by a branch of the Epte, a tributary of the Seine River.After Monet died in 1926, his estate and gardens were damaged in the bombings of World War II and deteriorated through neglect. His son, Michel, bequeathed the property to France's Academie des Beaux-Arts in 1966, which meticulously restored the home and gardens in a 10-year project that included redigging the water garden.Opened to the public in 1980, the complex welcomes visitors seven months of the year between April 1 and Oct. 31.Our recent visit to Giverny came on a Wednesday in September. We missed the summer blooms on the water lilies but also the thick crowds that swell in the warmer months.We caught the 8:15 a.m. express train from Gare Saint-Lazare in Paris to Vernon (not pronounced like the word in Mount Vernon, but Ver-NON) -- a smooth ride that took about 45 minutes. (The round-trip ticket cost 22 euros -- or about $30 at the current exchange rate.)At a cafe across the street from the train station we rented bikes (12 euros or nearly $16).The owner was affable enough, and after we got our bikes and a map we stayed for cups of cafe au lait and espresso and a basket of croissants. Then it was off to Giverny. The bikes, like many in France, have big baskets on the handlebars to carry backpacks or anything else you might have.The three-mile route takes you through Vernon's business district. It continues over a wide bridge that crosses the Seine to a dedicated bike path away from car traffic.Here you'll pedal at a relaxing pace on a crushed limestone path that goes behind well-kept homes and gardens. Look for wild blackberries hanging over a wall built along the hillside.As you reach Giverny you're back on the road that passes by stone houses, B&Bs, guesthouses, churches, gardens and a few cafes. The entrance to Monet's estate is on the right side of the road, and there are bicycle racks in the parking lot across the street.When entering the complex, visitors will pass through the water-lily studio, which is now a gift shop, to reach Monet's home and gardens.On the west side of Clos Normand is a lawn scattered with irises and Oriental poppy, Japanese cherry and flowering crab-apple trees. To the east, Monet had laid out beds of gladioli, larkspur, phlox, daisies, asters and other flowers. A center aisle is covered with green iron trellises of clematis, roses and other climbing plants. Blue rock plants and a mix of annuals and perennials keep the blooms going from spring through fall (the dahlias were at their peak when we visited). There also are greenhouses where Monet grew begonias, exotic ferns and orchids.The water garden is accessed through an underground tunnel in front of Clos Normand. Color abounded on the water's edge from the heather, ferns, laurels, rhododendrons, azaleas, irises and peonies that Monet had planted.The pond's focal point is the green curved Japanese bridge, made of beechwood, that was rebuilt by a Vernon firm. It looks like the original bridge Monet had built by a local craftsman but had deteriorated to the point it could not be saved.The vibrant hues of the gardens are reflected in the colors of the walls of Monet's home, which has a pink facade with green shutters. There's the bright yellow dining room, where some of the greatest French and American artists dined during this era, and a Tiffany-blue kitchen with darker blue trim.After a visit to the home and gardens, you're back in the water-lily studio, which Monet built in 1916 with natural skylights to house his giant canvases. "Nympheas" was intended for the Orangerie, the former greenhouse in the Tuileries gardens near the Louvre in Paris. But because of a change in Monet's plans, it was never included in the exhibit. It remained in the water-lily studio for 30 years after his death and has been one of the treasures at the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh since 1962.On your way out of town, be sure to stop by Monet's grave in a family plot by the Sainte Radegonde Church. In keeping with his love of gardens, it's full of planted flowers.(Virginia Linn can be reached a vlinn(at)post-gazette.com. For more, stories visit scrippsnews.com.)
Post new comment