Lilies of the Pond
Lilies of the Pond
Pastel, 7 x 10
Monet bought the first parcel of land for his pond in 1893. Directly across the road from the columned front gate, it was located between a set of railroad tracks and the Ru River.
Monet planned to construct a water garden on the newly acquired property, and use the nearby river to fill it. Although anxious to begin the project, he wasn’t able to begin construction until after the necessary, but revocable permits to access the public resource were obtained.
Once built, the pond was seeded with an assortment of colorful waterlilies. Using both hardy and tropical varieties, the pond was soon decorated with shades of pink, white, yellow, red, and copper. Tropical varieties can contain shades of blues and violets, and will also bloom at night when cultivated in their native environment. *
In 1901 the plot of land adjacent to the pond was purchased, and the pond was enlarged by diverting the Epte, a small tributary from the Ru River, into the new excavation. A path was added on the far side of the pond, along with shrubs, flowering perennials, bamboo, and ornamental cherry. The entire project was finally completed in 1902, and quickly became Monet’s favorite place to paint.
* The tropical species were able to surive in the foreign environment, but the lack of consistently high temperatures also may have prevented them from blooming. It’s been reported that many of the groupings had no flowers at all! It’s also possible that their removal to the greenhouse during the winter months prevented them from becoming established long enough to produce a flower. So far, there have been no reports of night blossoming lilies at Giverny.
Technorati Tags: Monet, Giverny, water lilies, pastel
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Awesome colors!!
The incredible pinks are from the Mount Vision pastel company. They make my favorite blues, too!