Brève description / annotation

When Gérald Van der Kemp arrived at Giverny in 1977, he was greeted by a desolate prospect of dead trees, muddy quagmires and tangled thickets of brambles and weeds. Monet's sadly neglected house and garden, bequeathed by his son Michel Monet to the Académie des Beaux-Arts, offered a challenge to which Gérald Van der Kemp, formerly the chief curator of the Palace of Versailles, was to prove more than equal. With the aid of head gardener Gilbert Vahé, he replaced the dead trees, cleared the overgrown flowerbeds, rebuilt the Japanese bridge and widened the paths, ready to welcome the visitors who now flock to Monet's garden. With its planting schemes planned with reference to archive documents and Monet's own correspondence with his plant suppliers, the garden at Giverny now once again offers continuous displays of flowers from April to November. Richly illustrated with photographs, contemporary images, paintings and archive documents, this book traces the remarkable story of the gardens that inspired Monet and his water lily paintings, and of the second lease of life that has been granted to them. It bears witness to the skills, imagination and dedication of a remarkable project lasting over forty years that has re-created the unique settings that inspired Monet's paintings.

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