Meeting Monet at the New York Botanical Gardens

"Monet's Garden" at the New York Botanical Gardens was both an outdoor in and indoor experience. Like the famous waterlily paintings, the blooming water lily ponds at the Botanical Garden displayed the aquatic flora in all their glory in a wide variety of types and colors. The exhibit overall was a reproduction of Monet's home in Giverny, France comprised of flower beds and also some of the paintings themselves. In collaboration with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a side exhibition called "Paintings and Plants" featured paintings, photographs, and artifacts on display in the Mertz Library to compliment the plants outdoors in the ponds and in the Haupt Conservatory. Through such a comprehensive display, you see how important gardening was to the artist. Monet claims his lucrative career is owed to bright and colorful flowers. His lush grounds and colorful home are reflective of his work. 

Inside the glass arboretum, the façade of Monet's home, a slice of the existing gardens, and even the famous green bridge are represented. Dotted with millions of colors, you can see how the light is constantly changing in the flowers and foliage as were the ever-changing images that Monet painted repeatedly. 

The show at The New York Botanical Gardens in the Bronx runs through October 21st.
The real thing in Giverny below (from 2005) 

 

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