Stay Inspired While Quarantined, Take a Virtual Tour of Claude Monet's home and garden in Giverny, France

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Tamara Matthews Stephenson is the creative talent behind this journal dedicated to interior design, history and lifestyle inspiration. With a passion for design and a keen eye for aesthetics, she shares her expertise and insights. Tamara has established herself as a prominent figure in the world of interior design and her design philosophy is rooted in the idea that a well-designed home can elevate the quality of life. Beyond her writing, She is an interior designer and textile designer as the Creative Director and Owner of root cellar designs, LLC, an artisan line of textile and wallpaper. Connect with Tamara through email at rootcellardesings@gmail.com

Posted by Tamara Stephenson March 30, 2020

Stay Inspired While Quarantined, Take a Virtual Tour of Claude Monet's home and garden in Giverny, France

Take a Virtual Tour of

Monet's Home in Giverny

Back in 2006, our family visited Monet's Garden outside of Paris in Giverny. The village is in the Normandy region in Northern France. I wanted to show my kids the beautiful home and garden of my favorite artist. At that time, the home and garden had recently been renovated and preserved to its original colors and splendor. Gabby was an avid photographer and while touring, she took some close up photographs of the property (below). I was excited to learn that there is now a virtual tour of the house. So many museums and cultural centers are offering virtual tours these days, it's encouraging to know we can tap into these rich, beautiful places and learn in place from home.

When I was in design and art school, Impressionism art was kind of looked down upon by the intellectuals. I don't care, I've always loved it. I love how it's all fuzzy up close but when you stand back all those brush strokes make a gorgeous painting. I love how impressionistic art mostly channels and showcases nature. I love it that some of the impressionistic artists worked together painting side by side each giving their own version of a scene. I love everything about it. Claude Monet is known as the king of French Impressionism.

His name was Oscar Claude Monet and he is most well known for his oil paintings of water lilies, gardens and Japanese footbridges. He built his own oasis in Giverny, his own personal artists' study, and many of his paintings were of his own home and garden. I love how he played with light and color and shadow. In 1847, Along with artists Renoir, Camille Pissaro, Edgar Degas and Paul Cézanne, he created a group (The Anonymous Society of Painters, Sculptors, Printmakers) and they organized an exhibition. They showcased artwork in bright hues, and in this new style of loose, and what seemed like spontaneous brushwork (impressionism). The term "Impressionists" took hold and a movement was born. Check out this rare opportunity to see the home that Monet lived in, the colors that inspired him here online.