Description of the picture:
Garden artist in Giverny – Claude Monet. Oil on Canvas, 81 x 92 cm
Claude Monet was one of the founders of impressionism. The artist lived a long life, and, unlike many of his colleagues, managed to enjoy the sweet fruits of fame and recognition. He preferred to paint landscapes from nature, trying to catch the emotional mood of nature at different points in time.
In 1883, Monet acquired a manor with a garden in the town of Giverny in Northern Normandy. He saw this house, passing by train. Having become the owner of the estate, the artist pitched a huge garden on its territory, which became his passion for many years. He planted many flowers and trees there, drained the swamp and created the famous pond with water lilies.
For more than 40 years, Claude Monet has lived in this house. And all this time, a wonderful garden inspired him to work. Monet painted many paintings on his estate. “The Garden of the Artist in Giverny” is one of them.
In the foreground, we see a path leading to the painter’s house, framed by many beautiful quivering irises. The path visually calls for itself, invitingly inviting to follow to the building, whose pink walls with green shutters are visible in thickets of tall trees.
And yet, the main character of the picture is flowers. Irises seem alive. The breeze sways delicate petals. In some places they are lit by sunlight. Monet expressively writes in short, thick strokes. The master uses pure paints in painting, mixing them already on canvas. His manner seems rude, but the artist is perfectly able to convey the lyrical mood of the moment. The main color of the work is lilac, green, brown in different combinations.
The composition of the picture is balanced by vertical tree trunks in the background. They visually expand the space and give some static in contrast to the irises playing in the wind.
The painting has been kept at the Museum d’Orsay in Paris since 1983. Before that, she was in private collections."