Monet Garden Art for June

As we do every month, we’d like to share some garden-related art.  On this occasion, it’s time for a garden lunch with Monet!  Our painting for June is ‘Luncheon’ depicting the artist’s garden at Argenteuil, near Paris on a beautiful summer’s day.  The work was painted in about 1873 and shows the garden after or during a pleasant outdoor lunch.  There are teacups and wine glasses on the table, bread, peaches and figs.  Monet’s little son Jean is playing on the ground near the table and his nanny is talking to another woman in the background.  The whole atmosphere is delightful: the dappled light and shade, the gorgeous planting with roses in bloom and the air of lazy summer relaxation.  It’s exactly why I, for one, love my own garden.

What do we know about this painting?

After 1870, Monet gave up the large-scale paintings of his early days. However there were some exceptions, and The Lunch, painted in about 1873, is one of them.  Monet exhibited it in the second Impressionist exhibition of 1876 as a “decorative panel“.

The subject is very charming, with its air of spontaneity and domestic simplicity.  The hat, shawl and parasol have been left close by, and are in the picture as though by accident.  The figures are obviously very important, but Monet hasn’t treated them differently to the rest of the garden.  Also they aren’t positioned in a way to draw particular attention to them. As in some of his other paintings, Monet paints this kind of subject in a similar way to the artists Bonnard and Vuillard.  They also treated the whole composition in the same way rather than making a specific focus of the people in a room or garden.  You can see a similar Bonnard painting here.

In Monet’s large gardens, he might have had a shed or outbuilding with a boring wall to cover, or perhaps a fence.  Sadly, vertical gardening hadn’t been invented yet, but we’re sure he would have loved a plant wall if it had!  Now, however, we’re in the lucky position where it’s an easy choice.  Why not consider a Rosewood living wall?  Give Calum a call on 01727 811448 and find out how we can design and install a vertical garden tailored to your own space and preferences.