ART & KIDS: THE MAGICAL GARDEN OF CLAUDE MONET

07/06/2016,

We continue our series of art education for children by travelling to France to learn more about Claude Monet and his garden at Giverny.

The first step in our journey is the book “The Magical Garden of Claude Monet” by Laurence Anholt, a British writer and illustrator. Her books for children include other painters like “Degas and the Little Dancer” or “Picasso and the Girl with a Ponytail“.

The Magical Garden of Claude Monet is a great way to expose young children to impressionist art.

It’s a beautiful story about a girl named Julie who lives in Paris, but she longs to walk in a beautiful country garden. When her mother takes her on a visit to rural Giverny, Julie discovers a garden owned by immortal artist Claude Monet.

Anholt’s fine illustrations appear on every page and include reproductions of works by Monet. It is a lovely book that actually inspires children to paint their own “magic gardens”, and that was what my kids did after reading it.

Now we hope we can visit soon Claude Monet’s garden in Giverny, which inspired the book. For over 40 years – until his death in 1926- Giverny, which is not very far from Paris, was the home of Claude Monet.

You can visit his house, his studio-sitting room and his exceptional collection of Japanese prints. You can also visit his famous gardens, composed of The Clos Normand with its flowerbeds, and the Water Garden, planted with oriental vegetation and weeping willows.

The water garden is full of asymmetries and curves. It is inspired by the Japanese gardens that Monet knew from the prints he collected avidly. I dream with the green Japanese bridge, but in the meantime, I have to resign myself, with the following virtual tour of the Water Garden from Foundation Claude Monet.