The Artist’s Garden in Giverny

On both sides of the gravel path, irises bloom in dense profusion, forming a subtle gradation of purple and pink.
Through the towering tree trunks arching above, the pink brick house is dimly visible in the distance.

The year 1900.
Having reached the age of sixty, Claude Monet had achieved unrivaled success in the art market and amassed great wealth.
That year, he was working concurrently on two ambitious series.
One depicted the modern urban landscape along London's River Thames,
and the other, the grounds of his estate in Giverny, in the French department of Eure—
a garden series featuring the "Water Garden" and the "Clos Normand," which he had spent years cultivating himself.

To Monet, this garden at Giverny was far more than a simple hobby.
He personally selected every plant, from wild daisies to prized, exotic Oriental species.
He carefully orchestrated the harmony of colors and the interplay of heights.
Designed so that flawless painterly compositions would naturally emerge as the seasons shifted, it served as a "living studio" conceived purely for his art.

Possessing an almost fanatical passion for botany,
Monet maintained close ties with figures such as Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau and fellow painter Gustave Caillebotte.
They enthusiastically shared and exchanged rare seedlings and horticultural techniques.
"My garden is a slow work, pursued with love,"
he once remarked.