When he arrived in Giverny in 1883, at the age of 43, Monet discovered a village that would provide him with a lasting home. After years of financial hardship and the loss of his wife Camille, his move to Giverny marked the beginning of a period of transition: he built a new family life with Alice Hoschedé, experimented new landscapes, and achieved financial security and international artistic recognition.

In Giverny, Monet did not merely paint a village: he explored a unique landscape whilst maintaining links with the outside world. The train made it easier for him to travel and shaped his perception of movement and modernity. His artistic exploration of the village took place alongside numerous journeys and the development of international friendships, making Giverny a place that was both intimate and open to the world.

These intimate yet crucial aspects of Monet’s creative life during this period – his family life and his relationships with the residents of Giverny, his growing fame, his commercial strategy, and the evolution of his painting and his relationship with the landscape – reveal a little-known side of Monet’s life and career, before he embarked on his famous water-lily studies.

This exhibition has been organised to mark the centenary of Claude Monet’s death on 5 December 1926. Of the thirty or so works on display, many will be seen by the public for the first time. Others come from private collections and are rarely, if ever, exhibited.

Practical information:
• Exhibition catalogue: Monet in Giverny – Before the Water Lilies, 1883–1890, published by Flammarion
• Musée des Impressionnismes, 99 Rue Claude Monet, 27620 Giverny
• Open daily, from 10am to 6pm (last admission at 5.30pm).
• Full price: €12, Concessions: €9. Admission is free for under-18s and for all visitors on the first Sunday of the month in April, May and June.