The mind of an artist
Above By 1903 the pool at Giverny had been lengthened to 60 m (197 ft) and an upper gallery had been added to the bridge.The water lilies produced a tide of colour. Below Photography held little interest for Monet as part of the artistic process, unlike contemporaries such as Delacroix. However, it was a popular family pastime in the Monet-Hoschedé household. In one of his own rare photographs, the shadow of his brimmed hat nestles below the water lilies.
DURING HIS YEARS at Giverny, Monet’s daily routine seldom varied. He woke early, at four or five. Opening the window, he would study the sky. If the dawn augured well for that day’s weather he would take a cold bath, followed at 5.30 am by a hearty breakfast. He then set off to paint, sometimes with members of his family as helpers, returning at 11.00 am. Lunch had to be served on the dot of 11.30 am, and was followed by coffee and home-made plum brandy. After a short rest he resumed work out of doors, observing changes in the sky as reflected in the nearby river or, in later years, by the pool in his garden; alternatively he would paint in his studio. The bell for dinner would ring at 7.00 pm, and bedtime, like Monet’s hour of rising, was early, at 9.30 pm. Any variation in this daily routine was extremely unwelcome, and he would be most displeased if he had had a bad day or the sky had not been to his liking. However, this rigid timetable was no obstacle to the generous hospitality shown over the years towards many friends and relatives, for whom Giverny became the heart of a large extended family. In the six years before the Monets’ arrival at Giverny, personal extravagance and a lack of commissions had impoverished both them and their friends and patrons the Hoschedés. Faced with bankruptcy, their benefactor,
Right Monet defined these almost abstract lily pads with bold loops of paint that seem to float on the canvas. In this atmospheric detail from Water Lilies: Green Reflections, 1916–26, the sky and willows are reflected as textured strands.