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Group: Giverny Artist: Claude MONET Birth/Death: 1840–1926 Title: Springtime Date Made: 1886 Lender: Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge Once settled at Giverny, Monet began to create his garden: in 1885 he wrote of gardening ‘in order to prepare some beautiful motifs of flowers for myself for the summer’. By 1890 the flower garden had much of the character it has today, then in 1893 he began work on his water garden, which was shaped and reshaped for over fifteen years. Springtime, depicts Suzanne Hoschedé with Monet’s son Jean in the orchard of their home, in shallow space filled with layers of greens, pinks and blues which seem to filter a pinkish light into drowsy air. Curve echoes curve, embracing the figures in the lines of the trees. This is not description, but a re-creation of the sensation of being submerged in the scent and sight of blossom on a spring day in which everything is vibrantly alive. More details Click image to enlarge