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| Claude Monet's Bridge |
I have neglected looking at paintings for a time then Claude Monet came into my F/B account and I stopped to admire. This morning it was the frail beauty of peonies. Below the water lilies float gracefully in the luminous water. Art and garden.
Water is probably the most important part of a garden, here you can sit awhile and experience the life forms of the garden. Newts and frogs or maybe a toad or two. Or the miraculous birth of dragonflies or demoiselles. I have a photo of two damselflies mating amongst the bright colour of the nasturtiums flowers resting lightly on the water.
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| Claude Monet's Water Lilies There was a time, the time when I collected books, that the picture below was the fashion in the early 20th century. Monet in his garden had that formalised appearance, a repetitive nature of one type of edging plants in front of a flowerbed of the main display. Every small suburban garden would have its edging of white, blue and yellow plants. Order was called for, a rigidity of preciseness, though William Robinson and Gertrude Jekyll with their wider expanses of garden to play around with went for the 'wild' garden, drifts of flower edging woodland. Whilst the formal long flowerbeds had colours drifting through the spectrum. Clever use of planting was an art form. |
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| I think these are peonies |
Yes, I think they are peonies. P. Sarah Bernhardt I think. I love Monet’s work. When I saw his water Lily paintings for the first time I couldn’t believe how large they are. They hang in Tate Modern now along with Matisse’s The Snail which is equally monumental. When my daughter was about 8 she requested a visit to see a Monet exhibition in London and subsequently did a school project on the artist. I still have her project safely in a drawer and will look at it later. Good to hear your train journey went more or less smoothly and you are now safely home. Enjoying looking at art is a wonderful resource and I thank you for sharing your thoughts Thelma. Sarah in Sussex
ReplyDeleteWell Sarah I looked up peonies in Robinson. And he said they look lovely against shrubberies and lining the carriageway but also you could use them in the wild garden, where they looked good amongst the meadow grass from a distance. But he is right about them working in part shade, the only problem with them is their early appearance and then you are left with a shaggy clump of green leaves in a prominent place. How gardening has changed from when he was writing in late Victorian time.
ReplyDeleteIt amazes me what artists can capture with their paints and brush strokes, Thelma. These are lovely!
ReplyDeleteWell he definitely loved his garden, I love his kitchen Ellen.
DeleteThey don't really look like peonies to me but I've never grown one and they are not seen too often here. I love the third picture.
ReplyDeleteYes Monet is striking a pose for the camera. I wonder if he had gardeners to help in the garden.
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