In a small town just outside Paris lies the inspiration behind an artist’s masterpieces now known the world over. Rosie Khdir discovers Giverny, the home of Claude Monet.

Beautiful landscapes and floral scenes were the specialty of Impressionist mastermind Claude Monet and one place in particular got his paint brush moving.

Monet was born in Paris in 1840 and proceeded to travel for a great deal of his life to get new inspiration for his works. In 1883 however, he moved to the charming village of Giverny, just 80km from Paris, and settled there for the remaining 43 years of his life.

His paintings of the Japanese bridge and the many pictures of water lily covered ponds are some of his most famous pieces and were actually based on the gardens he created at his house in Giverny. You can stroll across the bridge featured in his “Le Bassin aux nymphéas” and walk through the poppy filled fields that appear in “Le Jardin aux iris, Giverny”. The lands really are as breath taking as they look in his paintings.

Monet died in 1926 and his house and garden were inherited by his son Michael Monet, but during the Second World War the property became neglected. In 1966 Michael made the Academie des Beaux-Arts his heir and eleven years later under the watchful eye of the new curator Gérald van der Kemp, the restoration began.

After ten years of repairing shattered glass, rotten beams and a collapsed staircase, re-digging the pond and removing a top layer a soil to discover the original species of flower Monet planted, the house and garden “Clos normand” was finally restored to its former glory.

Every year 500,000 visitors take a tour of the gardens or simply wander around the drooping willows and fragrant irises at their leisure. The Pink House, with its colourful exterior, is a reflection of Monet’s love for Japanese art; his kitchen walls are covered with Japanese wall blocks and his garden filled with cherry blossom.

You could even learn to become an Impressionist yourself in this quaint little village, as courses are given in Chinese painting and you can also do an impressionist art study. For more information about tours and attractions in Monet’s beautiful home town visit the official Giverny website.

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Image credit: ell brown

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