Posts tagged ‘giverny’

Wordless Wednesday: Springtime at Monet’s Garden

Giverny
Location: Giverny, France
 

Giverny Giverny
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March 19, 2018 at 8:39 am 6 comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: Chaos


Monet's Garden

Location: Giverny, France

Claude Monet, the famous impressionist painter, said that his most beautiful work of art was his garden in Giverny.

When I visited it one summer ago, however, I wasn’t impressed. I didn’t find it as breathtaking as the well-coiffured Versailles and Kew Gardens.

It was more like a wilderness. It seemed that plants and flowers were laid out without much of a plan and allowed to grow as they pleased. Instead of order, I saw chaos. I guess this was what made Monet, Monet and me, me. I looked and didn’t see.

I hope it’s not too late to be like Monet, if not to paint, learn to see.

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November 5, 2016 at 10:02 am 7 comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: Curve


japanese bridge

Location: Monet’s Garden, Giverny, France

Above is a picture of the wooden footbridge over the pond of lilies that I took in Monet’s Garden at Giverny. It became one of his favorite subjects painting it over and again under different settings.

Monet (1840-1924) was the French impressionist renowned for his landscape paintings.

Compared to his masterpieces displayed at Musée d’Orsay and elsewhere, the bridge looked so ordinary, especially when tourists were occupying it. It had none of the allure, the nuances, and the curves that made it an object of art.


japanese bridge painting

Monet’s Painting

I guess that’s what makes Monet and other artists different from the rest of us. Oftentimes, we tend to look but don’t initially see what they see.

But don’t despair. The aha moment could take some time even for an artist like Monet.

“A landscape does not get under your skin in one day,” he told Marc Elder in 1924. “And then all of a sudden I had the revelation of how enchanting my pond was. I took up my palette. Since then I’ve hardly had any other subject.”

It must be worth the wait even if it takes being led by the nose to get there. Just like Monet, when it finally “get under your skin,” it’s simply priceless.

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June 17, 2016 at 5:13 pm 8 comments

Wordless Wednesday: French Sweet Indulgence

Crepe Deluxe
Location: Giverny, France
 

March 7, 2016 at 1:57 pm 4 comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: Life Imitates Art

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Location: Monet’s Garden, Giverny, France

Monet was one of the most prolific painters in his time. He made nature as the inspiration of his works. I’ve enjoyed seeing his paintings especially at the Musee d’Orsay in Paris.

At the village of Giverny, I visited his home and garden where he lived with his family from 1883 until his death in 1926. It was here where he painted most of his masterpieces.

As an impressionist, Monet was known for painting the same scene over and over again to reflect the changing of the light and the passing of the seasons. Art imitating life seemed to be his passion.

Many years after his death, the roles have been reversed. I could see life imitating art in his garden in Giverny.

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February 12, 2016 at 2:58 pm 11 comments

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i have hated the words and i have loved them, and i hope i have made them right.

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