When impressionist artist Claude Monet won the French lottery he bought a house in Giverny, a village in Normandy, France. He laid out a garden with lily ponds and began painting the famous water lilies that would occupy him continuously for the next 20 years. Monet remained at Giverny for the rest of his life.
In 1883, the impressionist artist Claude Monet (18401926) rented a house in Giverny, a village in Normandy about 65 kms outside Paris. It was a life-changing decision for many reasons.
The house had a barn that doubled as a painting studio, with apple orchards and a small garden. It was close enough to the local schools for the children to attend. The surrounding landscape had many natural areas for Monet to paint.
The house provided a stable domestic base, and Monet's fortunes began to change for the better as his agent sold more and more of his paintings. Monet remained at Giverny for the rest of his life.
The family expanded the gardens, which were Monet's greatest source of inspiration for 40 years. In 1890, when Monet won the French lottery, he was able to buy the house, some surrounding buildings, and more land for his gardens. He built a greenhouse and a second studio, a spacious well-lit building with skylights.
Monet regarded his garden as a lifelong project and his greatest masterpiece. He wrote daily instructions to his gardener, with precise designs and layouts for seasonal plantings. He kept all the invoices for his floral purchases and built a large collection of botany books. As his wealth grew, his garden evolved. He remained its architect, even after he hired seven gardeners.
Monet’s house is located at the top of the gardens, a pastel-pink building with green shutters. Inside, the rooms are painted different colours, restored exactly as they were when Monet lived there.
Monet’s love of light and colour is clearly displayed in his choice of decor.
In the kitchen, blue-and-white Rouen tiles are perfectly paired with copper pots and utensils.
The massive room was used as a living room and to prepare meals for Monet, his wife Alice and his eight children and stepchildren.
In the adjacent dining room, luminous yellow walls and chairs combine with a red-and-white checked floor, showcasing his collection of Japanese woodblock prints—a major inspiration for the artist.
At his house, Monet met with artists, writers, intellectuals and politicians from France, England, Japan and the United States.
His fame in the U.S. grew steadily. Monet had oneman shows in New York in 1891 and in Boston in 1892.
Increasing numbers of private American collectors came to visit Giverny in person.
In 1899, he began painting the famous water lilies that would occupy him continuously for the next 20 years of his life. Depictions of the water lilies, with alternating light and mirror-like reflections, absorbed him and became an integral part of his work. He would ultimately produce over 250 paintings of the Waterlilies.
In 1902, Monet purchased additional land with a water meadow, increasing the size of his water garden by nearly 4000 square metres. White water lilies local to France were planted along with imported cultivars from South America and Egypt, resulting in a vibrant display of yellow, blue and white. The pond was enlarged with easels installed all around to allow different perspectives to be captured.
Every morning during Monet’s lifetime, a gardener would climb into a rowboat and row around the pond, meticulously cleaning the water lilies that had collected soot from passing trains.
Monet insisted that, when he started painting in the morning, the water lilies would be pristine.
There are gardeners working in the garden today whose job is to remove every fallen leaf from the surface of the water every day.
After Monet died in 1926, his son Michel inherited the estate. He had no interest in Giverny and his stepsister Blanche Monet became the caretaker of the house and garden until her death in 1947. After her death the house and garden fell into neglect.
In 1966 Michel bequeathed the house, garden, and water lily pond to the French Academy of Fine Arts. Gerald van der Kemp, the curator at Versailles, raised funds from American donors for a project to restore Monet’s home. The house and gardens were opened to visitors in 1980. Today Giverny is visited by tourists from all over the world.
The village of Giverny is easily accessible from Paris by train from Gare Saint-Lazare station. Buy a ticket for Vernon which is the closest stop to Giverny. Monet’s gardens are open daily, 9:30 am – 6:00 pm, midMay to November, and closed during the winter months. Tickets to Monet’s gardens can be purchased on site or in advance on Giverny’s tourism website (recommended).
The train ride to Vernon takes 45 minutes. A bus or taxi will take you the rest of the way (7 kilometers) from the Vernon train station to Giverny. The buses are easy to locate, just follow the Monet-themed footprints.