In 2008 we stayed in the hills just above GIVERNY, FRANCE(home to MONET, his GARDENS and his WATER LILIES) in one of the MOST LOVELY BED AND BREAKFASTS I've ever stayed in (LA RESERVE). It was new construction, copying the style of the late 1880's.
CHARMING, CHARMING, CHARMING!
The small, quaint village of GIVERNY, FRANCE, where MONET had his HOME, GARDENS, LILY PADS and STUDIO, is an enchanting community full of VISUALTREASURES to delight the eye (and camera).
A friendly ARTIST making a living on the streets of GIVERNY.........
MONET could walk from his home to the BAUDY HOTEL/RESTAURANT where he shared time and drinks with his friends and FELLOW ARTISTS (CEZANNE, MANET, PISSARRO, RENOIR, CASSATT.......).
The hotel guest register from 1887- 1899 (the vast majority were PAINTERS from the UNITED STATES) was given to the PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART!
A few photos of the BAUDY RESTAURANT (pronounced BAWDY)........
A little further down the street, on the right-hand side, is the CEMETERY where MONET and his FAMILY are buried. The entrance is clearly marked with this HUGE POSTER of CLAUDE MONET.
TRANSLATED, this says -
"HERE RESTS OUR GOOD FRIEND, CLAUDE MONET. SORRY TO ALL."
For NONFICTION BOOK CLUB we are reading MAD ENCHANTMENT: Monet and the Painting of the Water Lilies by ROSS KING - 2/3 of the way through the book I felt compelled to look again at the photos I took when I visited in 2008 and 2015. Naturally, now I want to share some of them with you.
But first, a few excerpts from the book that will give you some insight into CLAUDE MONET's feelings:
Pg 137
"I'm in a state of impossible anxiety. I've ruined the good pieces by trying to improve them and now I have to try to fix it at all costs..... For the time being, I can't leave here and I can't see anyone."
Pg 178
The visit marked Gimpel's first meeting with Monet, whose appearance and manner left a vivid impression on him. He appeared before his guest wearing a "big pointed straw peasant's hat" and then, without further ado, launched into a long monologue that - if Gimpel recorded it faithfully - amounted to an artistic manifesto tinctured with personal eccentricities. "Ah, gentlemen," he greeted them, "I don't receive when I'm working, no I don't receive. When I'm working, if I'm interrupted, it finishes me, I'm lost. You'll understand, I'm sure, that I'm chasing the merest sliver of color. It's my own fault, I want to grasp the intangible. It's terrible how the light runs out, taking color with it. Color, any color, lasts a second, sometimes three or four minutes at most. What to do, what to paint in three or four minutes? They're gone, you have to stop. Ah, how I suffer, how painting makes me suffer! It tortures me. The pain it causes me!"
Pg 195
"I am unhappy," the painter told his guests, "very unhappy." Surprised, they asked him why, to which he replied with his customary lecture about the mental horrors of a man's reach exceeding his grasp - how painting made him suffer, how he was unsatisfied with all his previous works, how "each time I begin a canvas I hope to produce a masterpiece, I have every intention of it, and nothing comes out that way. Never to be satisfied - it's frightful. I suffer greatly."
MONET'S GARDENS in GIVERNY are a sight to BEHOLD. When you walk by the LILYPADS and over the JAPANESE BRIDGE, you can SEE and FEEL why MONET was inspired to paint, yet tortured to reach perfection. I've visited three times - twice in September and once later in the Fall. The vegetation and colors were quite different each time.
FIRST his colorful HOME........
And his CAREFULLY PLANNEDGARDENS.......
His JAPANESE BRIDGE covered with wisteria.........
AND, his MAGNIFICENT WATER LILIES.......
Here is a very short (less than 3 min) YOUTUBE video of MONET painting his WATERLILIES. I recommend that you enlarge the video to full screen. Notice the length of the ASH on his cigarette as he is obviously totally consumed with his craft.
I have more to share - the GORGEOUS Bed and Breakfast where we stayed in GIVERNY and TREASURES throughout the VILLAGE. Please look for my next post - MONET and HIS GARDENS in GIVERNY, FRANCE - PART 2.
This past weekend a neighbor, former US CONGRESSMAN and a man who is passionate about history took a group of us to GETTYSBURG for a personalized tour of the BATTLEFIELDS. We couldn't have asked for a better opportunity to be educated and the March weather was a perfect, partly sunny, 70-degree day.
If you've never been there, the BATTLEFIELDS are preserved with period fencing, cannons, monuments, sculptures, and even an ETERNAL FLAME. The one-way roads weave thru the battlefields allowing traffic and parking to be manageable.
The story of the CIVIL WAR and the BATTLE at GETTYSBURG is moving. The numbers killed is ASTOUNDING. We were told how one major bad decision by GENERAL LEE changed the course of our history. We also stood right where PRESIDENT LINCOLN delivered his famous GETTYSBURG ADDRESS.
After we left the BATTLEFIELDS, we had one of the best meals ever at SIDNEY'S AT WILLOUGHBY RUN. The service started out a bit slow, but EVERY person's meal was OUTSTANDING. What a CHEF!! And who knew that the country of LEBANON produces such a delicious ROSE WINE?
The following day we visited THE EISENHOWER FARM, located adjacent to the battlefields.
IKE EISENHOWER graduated from WEST POINT, and in WWII led the ALLIED TROOPS to victory, earning a title of 5-STAR GENERAL. He was then convinced to run for the US PRESIDENCY, was elected and served 2 terms.
The EISENHOWERS often used the HOME/FARM to hold meetings with WORLDDIGNITARIES when he was PRESIDENT. It was after his Presidency that he and his wife, MAMIE retired and moved permanently to the farm in GETTYSBURG.
What a fitting location to retire to, for a 5-STAR GENERAL who spent his life in service to his country. Their HOME/FARM is considered a NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE because the EISENHOWERS, while they were alive, donated it to the U.S. GOVERNMENT for preservation and historical purposes - with the stipulation that they would be allowed to live there for the rest of their lives.
We toured the house and farm for a nominal fee and the guides were very informative. I highly recommend a visit there.
A group of BOY SCOUTS was touring with us (after they camped overnight nearby). They were curious about the ROTARYPHONES and CONSOLE TV.......... WHAT???? But that was true to LIFE IN THE 1950's and 1960's.
I happen to LOVE DOOR KNOCKERS and thought I'd end this BLOG POST with a photo of this unique and most beautiful one on the FRONT DOOR of the EISENHOWER'S HOME.
