Giverny

What happens when a great artist designs a garden:



And here's some of the ways Monet saw it:









I've never been to Giverny. My one trip to Paris, there just wasn't time (and the gardens had not yet been refurbished). I did, however, see the water lily rooms at the Orangerie in the Tuileries Gardens. They were mesmerizing: it was like being there, completely surrounded by the pools and the flowers. Immense canvses mounted on the walls of two oval rooms. They were a gift by Monet to the French Republic.

And I live in Chicago. The Art Institute has what are probably the strongest holdings of Monet outside of France -- and its collection arguably rivals most of those in France. At one point they had a gallery at the top of the main stair devoted entirely to Monet, set up chronologically. Just the smaller canvases, of course. The large "Irises" and "Water Lilies" were still installed in the Impressionist galleries. But still.

Thanks to Chris in Paris at AmericaBlog for the video.