France, The Home of Claude Monet

Entering Monet’s home and gardens (in Giverny, France) was like stepping into one of his lush pastel paintings. It was a romantic dream!

We just left the hospital in Paris. I finally was able to brush my teeth (it’s the little things) and going on a road trip through northern France sounded perfect. We knew Claude Monet’s home was on the way, so of course, that was a must see for me.

Even though it was only the beginning of Spring when we visited, there was a peaceful zen that you could feel throughout his property. It was magical!

It’s no wonder while looking out of his train window during a trip from Vernon to Gasny, he immediately fell in love with this place. He moved here in 1883 and lived here until his death in 1926. For a few years he rented the property and immediately began his gardens which he called “Clos Normand.” 8 years later he was able to finally purchase it and 3 years after that he purchased additional land where his water garden “Jardin d’Eau,” his famous lily pond, was born.

So many of his paintings were painted is this exquisite place. Like Van Gogh, he too was fascinated with Japanese prints and had many walls covered with them. He drew inspiration from his home where he designed his property after Japanese landscaping. His home and gardens have been beautifully preserved showing the Japanese bridge, waterlilies, thick bamboo forest and weeping willows that were all the subjects of his most iconic masterpieces.

The interior of his home was alive with his summer palette of rich color pulled right from his paintings. There was no question that Monet lived here. The rooms were perfectly restored to their 19th century condition. The sunny yellow dining room and tranquil blue toned kitchen look like something pulled from a Mother Goose picture book. It was all so memorable and dream-like.

Claude Monet oversaw the renovation of the house himself. He made sure the colors of his house and its interior matched his palette. That made me smile, because I do the same thing. I even dress in the same colors. Bright pink for the exterior, his windows, doors and shutters accented in a lush green.

As we walked outside around his home, there was no question how passionate he was about gardening, too. He pulled all of his knowledge about lighting, color and perspective from his canvas to his garden. The main path of Clos Normand is covered with metal arches where thick vines grow and roses bloom. Perfectly straight lines and deliberate bursts of color dominate the entire front yard. If someone told me fairies lived here, I would have believed it. It was simply majestic.

It’s one thing to stare up close at the thick pastel stokes of paint in a museum. It became more of a spiritual experience to enter the artist’s home, walk in the places where he dreamed and felt the most inspired and exhaled in the very studio where some of the most famous paintings were obsessed over, adjusted and reworked until he finally gave in and washed his brush.

Claude Monet’s studio.

I took a photo of this photo from his home.

He put all his money into his garden.

I was honored, moved and so grateful to have entered the home of (arguably) one of the most elegant painters that ever lived.

XOXO,

Melessa