Giverny and Monet

Giverny, the Village
At the gateway to Normandy, 75 km from Paris and 60 km from Rouen, the village of Giverny (pronounced Jee-va-nyee) is located on the right bank of the River Seine, at its confluence with one of the two branches of the River Epte lined with willows and poplars.

The origin of the village is very ancient as Gallo-Roman graves are said to have been discovered there in 1838. In 1860 coffins made out of plaster and dating from the first centuries of our era were found while restoring the churchyard. A ruined megalithic monument close to the church and called "Saint Radegonde's grave" also testifies that neolithic people used to live there.

But Giverny rises to fame in 1883 when the painter Claude Monet discovered the village whilst looking out of the train window (the line has since closed down). Monet was enthusiastic about the spot. He found a large house to rent, "the Press House". By the end of April he had moved in with Alice Hoschedé, his lady-friend, his two sons and her six children. The house was a farmhouse with a vegetable garden and an orchard of over one hectare.

At the time there were about 300 inhabitants in Giverny, most of them farmers, and a few middle-class families.

The village consists of two streets on the hillside lined with low houses in a pink or green roughcast with slate roofs, their walls covered with wisteria and Virginia creeper. These streets are crossed by narrow lanes running down the hill. The Claude Monet Road runs straight to the village. The "Chemin du Roy" (Secondary Road 5) follows the banks of the River Epte. Claude Monet's house lies between the two roads.
From 1887 onwards a colony of foreign painters, mainly Americans settled in Giverny. But this seems to have been by chance and the charm of the place rather than the presence of Monet (which they did not know of). The painters Sargent, Metcalf, Ritter, Taylor, Wendel, Robinson, Bruce and Breck came first.

For thirty years about a hundred artists stayed one after the other in Giverny, although they did not have much contact with Monet who considered their presence a nuisance. However their art would be deeply influenced by impressionist techniques.

Much more here


About Claude Monet

Claude Monet was born on November 14, 1840 on the fifth floor of 45 rue Laffitte,in the ninth arrondissement of Paris. He was the second son Claude Adolphe Monet and Louise-Justine Aubree. On the first of April 1851, Monet entered the Le Havre secondary school of the arts. He became known locally for this charcoal caricatures, which he would sell for ten to twenty francs. Monet also undertook his first drawing lessons from Jacques-Francois Ochard, a former student of Jacques-Louis David. On the beaches of Normandy in about 1856/1857 he meet fellow artist Eugéne Boudin who became his mentor and taught him to use oil paints. Boudin taught Monet "en plein air" (outdoor) techniques for painting.

View his complete works here




Further Reading about Claude Monet and the Gardens

Claude Monet's Autobiography

"In 1900, Monet has become famous. On the occasion of an exhibition in Paris a journalist, Thiébault-Sisson, made him tell his life. On November 26, 1900 the newspaper "Le Temps" published this autobiography in which Monet builds himself his legend. The text is spicy but doesn't always reflect reality faithfully ..."

Monet's Impressions
Throughout his life, Claude Monet wrote and spoke about his art. This elegant book pairs spectacular reproductions of some of his most important paintings with his own words to create a uniquely personal look at the work of one of the worlds most renowned artists. The poetic text introduces readers to the Impressionists' goal of capturing a fleeting moment and makes this an art book perfect for the young and the young at heart.

Secrets of Monet's Garden: Bringing the Beauty of Monet's Style to Your Own Garden by Derek Fell
Monet designed his garden as a painter’s subject, using plants like brushstrokes. Premier garden writer and photographer Derek Fell helps the home gardener recreate some of Giverny’s beauty through an illuminating examination of the painter’s planting philosophies. With hundreds of full-color photographs, and reproductions, Fell sheds light on Monet’s use of color, structure, favorite flowers; and more.

16th-Century Amsterdam Stunningly Visualized with 3D Animation

NOW IN THE AMSTERDAM MUSEUM: A 1,000 YEAR OLD CITY OF WATERWAYS WHERE SPIRIT OF ENTERPRISE, CREATIVITY, CIVIC VALUES AND FREEDOM ARE WHAT COUNT. AMSTERDAM DNA SHOWS AND TELLS THE STORY BASED ON THESE CORE VALUES: BURGHERS CARING FOR THE LESS FORTUNATE, SHIPS SAILING TO ASIA AND AMERICA, FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE, ART IN ABUNDANCE. AND YET ALSO OPPRESSION, SLAVERY AND WAR.

The Amsterdam Museum teamed up with the Dutch creative agency PlusOne to create a series of videos for the new Amsterdam DNAexhibition — an exhibition that offers a three-dimensional 45-minute journey through Amsterdam’s history.

Watch a trailer and a clip from the second film called Revolt Against King and Church here.

Learn more about the museum here

Nat Geo's Charming Amsterdam Photos

Amsterdam's Keizersgracht canal at night

More lovely photos here

A Dutch Food Primer

These are the Dutch dishes, sweets and bread spreads you should definitely try, while visiting Holland:

Snert: Pea soup, also referred to as snert, is a thick soup made from split peas. Pea soup is found in other countries, but the Dutch version is extremely thick and creamy. The Dutch usually eat this soup during the winter, together with rye bread topped with smoked bacon.

Stamppot: another winter dish with vegetables, potatoes and meat mashed together in one stew. There are varieties with kale, sauerkraut, onions, carrots, sausages and bacon. The final touch is an indentation in the middle of the stew that is filled with gravy.

Cheese: The Netherlands is a real cheese country. More than 674,000 tons of kilos of cheese are produced each year and Dutch cheese is exported to 130 countries around the world. Familiarity with names like Gouda, Edam and Alkmaar (where the famous cheese markets are held) stretches far beyond the national borders. The Dutch eat cheese as a topping on bread, a custom not shared by many non-Dutch.

Poffertjes: A traditional Dutch snack similar to pancakes, but smaller, thicker and sweeter. Poffertjes are usually served with butter and sugar on top. They are extremely popular with children. Most outdoor markets and fairs in the Netherlands have a stand selling this treat.

Patatje met: French fries are not a Dutch invention, but the Dutch have their own unique customs for eating them. Popular toppings are mayonnaise, mayonnaise with peanut sauce, and mayonnaise with ketchup and raw onions, combinations that tend to stupefy visitors from other countries. French fries with a variety of toppings are sold in the Netherlands at snack bars. The people of the northern provinces refer to them as patat, while the southerners call them friet.

Bitterballen: the best snack when sitting on a terrace with a drink. Small fried balls of beef ragout. The bigger brother of ‘bitterballen’ is a kroket, which is sold at any snack corner.

Vending machines: Snack bars are an integral part of Dutch culture.  Hot vending machine snacks include frikadel (minced meat hot dog), croquette and fried croquette balls.

Salted herring (Hollandse Nieuwe): Salted herring is referred to as Hollandse Nieuwe, and is the first young herring of the season that is suitable for consumption. Herring may only carry the Hollands designation if it contains a certain percentage of fat and is prepared in the traditional Dutch manner, i.e. cleaned, filleted and salted. Every year, this herring is introduced in a ceremonial manner at the end of May or in early June. A traditional auctioning of the first barrel of Hollandse herring takes place in Scheveningen, the proceeds of which are donated to charity. The Dutch eat herring as a snack. They grab it by the tail, cover it in raw onions (optional) and hold it in the air in front of their mouth and eat it bite by bite.


Liquorice: Dutch liquorice is available both sweet and salty and in a wide range of shapes and flavors. Nowhere in the world do they eat as much liquorice as in the Netherlands.

Hagelslag: Every day in the Netherlands, no fewer than 750,000 slices of bread are consumed with hagelslag on top, a topping made of chocolate or coloured sugar sprinkles, making it the most popular bread topping in the country. It is a typical Dutch product that is often unavailable in other countries.

Muisjes: aniseed comfits eaten as a bread topping and available with a pink, blue or white outer layer of sugar. It is a Dutch custom to eat rusk with aniseed comfits to celebrate the birth of a baby

Stroopwafel: It can best be described as a waffle cookie that has been cut through the middle and ‘glued’ back together again with caramel. They are best eaten warm, although also often eaten cold. More than 22 million packages of stroopwafels are sold each year in the Netherlands.







Feeling even more adventurous?  Check out this NY Times article: Eating Out in Amsterdam: Way Beyond Herring

The Netherlands: Suggested Books and Movies

Books
(note: Forget the guide books, dive into some evocative novels and histories to really get the feel of a place!) 

Apothecary's House by Adrian Mathews
Set in modern day Amsterdam an art historian begins looking into the true ownership of a Nazi-looted painting hung in the Rujksmuseum. She begins receiving dangerous threats, but presses on, only to discover secret symbolism within the painting.

Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank (1947)
A 20th-century classic; the diary of the young Jewish girl hiding out from the Nazis, yet still sustained by a sense of hope and the memory of Amsterdam’s beauty.

The Embarrassment of Riches: An Interpretation of Dutch Culture in the Golden Age, by Simon Schama (1987)
A masterwork of a popular history that examines how and why Amsterdam became one of the first truly modern cities.

Amsterdam: A Brief Life of the City, by Geert Mak (1999)
A popular historian and storyteller, Geert Mak offers a lively, often surprising story of the city.

Rembrandt’s Eyes, by Simon Schama (1999)
This biography of the painter also evokes the dynamic, multicultural city that embraced him.

Amsterdam, by Ian McEwan (1989)
Booker Prize-winning novella featuring a composer desperately trying to finish a work scheduled to premiere in Amsterdam.

The Undutchables by Colin White & Laurie Boucke
A funny, clever book that dissects every habit and trait of Dutch life for the expat, from beer to 'strippencops', the long-winded art of debate and much more.

The Grijpstra & de Gier Mystery series by Janwillem van de Wetering
http://www.goodreads.com/series/61059-grijpstra-de-gier-mystery

Tulipomania: The Story of the World's Most Coveted Flower & the Extraordinary Passions It Aroused
For history buffs or gardeners who enjoy more than just digging in the dirt, Tulipomania presents a fascinating look at the tulip frenzy that took place in Holland in the mid-1600s. Beginning as gifts given among the wealthy and educated folk of Europe and Asia, the tulip rapidly became a source of incredible financial gain--similar to today's Internet start-up companies or Beanie Baby collections. Stories of craftsmen discontinuing their trade and focusing on raising tulips for public auction, where they sold for prices comparable to that of a manor house, are astonishing. Poets, moralists, businessmen--it seems everyone was involved at some level.

The Garden Lover's Guide to the Netherlands and Belgium
Gardening writer Barbara Abbs explores over 100 of the most beautiful Dutch and Flemish gardens, highlighting their most striking features, describing their distinctive characters, and revealing charming aspects that will delight every garden lover. From the exquisite formal gardens of the Paleis Het Loo to the lavender expanses of the Kasteel Twickel, this volume reveals many of the best-kept secrets awaiting travelers in Europe.




Film

Antonia’s Line (1995)
Winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1996, this story of a family of strong-willed Dutch women evokes Holland’s abiding feminist spirit, and faith in autonomy.


Turkish Delight (1973)
An early film by Dutch director Paul Verhoeven starring Rutger Hauer, both of whom went onto become Hollywood players; follows the dizzying bohemian life of an Amsterdam artist, and captures the decadent look of the city in the seventies.


Anne Frank Remembered (1995)
A British documentary that offers the most complete biographical account of Anne Frank’s life and her father’s attempt to keep her memory alive.

Black Book (2006)
Filmmaker Paul Verhoeven, after his Hollywood stint, returned to the Netherlands to film this story of a Jewish resistance fighter surviving the Nazi occupation; ultimately moving despite some gratuitous sex scenes.

Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003)
A young peasant maid working in the house of painter Johannes Vermeer becomes his talented assistant and the model for one of his most famous works.

Lust for Life (1956)
The life of brilliant but tortured artist Vincent van Gogh.