“The Water-Lily Pond”
Today, one from Monet’s famous gardens…
“The Water-Lily Pond” is an oil on canvas painting from 1899 by the French impressionist artist, Claude Monet. It is a lovely rendition of the living art in his gardens that you can visit to this day.
In 1883, Monet rented an old farmhouse in Giverny, France, northwest of Paris. It was to be an escape from the city. He immediately began to modify the landscape around the farmhouse to create his now famous gardens. The result is a sprawling and generous creation, with a rambling design and overabundance of flowers and plants.
In 1890, Monet was able to buy the house in Giverny outright. He immediately began more heavy remodeling of the landscape. In 1893, he bought the plot of land directly next to his home. He took a different approach when planning this new addition. He redirected a stream, a branch of the Epte River, to fill in a pond in this adjacent plot. He then built his now-famous Japanese-inspired bridge to expand over the pond.
Like many artists during this period, Monet was greatly inspired by the Japanese ukiyo-e prints. He owned a print by Utagawa Hiroshige, titled “Kameido Tenjin keidai. Drum-shaped bridge at the Tenjin compound during the wisteria season”, which features an arched bridge similar to the one he had constructed. This type of bridge is a moon bridge, also known as a drum bridge. The moon bridge is a pedestrian bridge that features a high arched walkway, originally designed to allow boats to pass beneath.
Monet painted the bridge several times in 1895 after its completed construction before he realized it would take time for the recently planted vegetation to grow, expand, and fill in the space. He filled the pond with exotic lily pads and planted wisteria to generously hang over the bridge. Bamboo lines the walkways approaching the bridge. The pond and bridge provided endless inspiration for Monet. Interestingly for us today, Monet was at odds with the town, whose inhabitants did not want him to redirect the stream to enlarge his pond. After several years, the town finally gave him permission.
Monet’s work was in high demand. To help him create a greater output of art, he would often paint the same scene over many times and create a series. He would allow the natural light, time of day, and weather conditions inspire a unique color palette for each painting, creating a slew of original works from one inspired scene. In 1899, Monet created at least ten versions of this painting, with the exact frame and scope of the bridge and pond. The following year, in 1900, he created six more paintings of the bridge and pond, with a slightly different framing of the landscape.
“The Water-Lily Pond” is currently on loan and is on display at the York Art Gallery in York, England. It is part of the permanent collections of the National Gallery in London, England.
For more on Claude Monet, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
