Claude Monet - Der Garten von Vétheuil (1881)

 

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The viewer's gaze is disrupted by the branches of trees and plant supports. The seemingly unorchestrated composition contradicts academic compositional norms, imparting a modern character of spontaneous snapshot to Monet's painting of his garden in the village of Vétheuil along the Seine. It belongs to Monet's earliest works dedicated solely to the blooming nature and devoid of human figures.

By the beginning of the 1880s, the artist's garden had become a significant motif within Impressionism. This subject offered the opportunity for plein air work without the need for extensive or costly travels. Moreover, it allowed painters to work in an environment they were well acquainted with. Simultaneously, a personal garden enabled the transformation of nature according to individual preferences, as well as manipulation of the "stage" through the selection of plants and formal arrangements using terraces, garden paths, or decorative accessories.

Monet's affinity for horticulture is now often associated with the water garden he designed in Giverny, inspired by Far Eastern models, which he began in 1893. However, he had already engaged with gardening as a hobbyist in Vétheuil with enthusiasm, capturing the setting in several ambitious compositions. This painting is part of a series of seven garden paintings he created in 1881 and is the only variation in this series executed in a horizontal format. The dense foliage, the tightly framed view, and the brightly shining colors give the impression of a carpet-like interweaving.

The prominently showcased tree on the left foreground, along with the expansive branches and plant supports, function as perplexing visual barriers. They contrast with the motif of the garden path, which guides the viewer's eye from the front right to the center of the composition. Nearly exactly in the middle of the painting, a horizontally arranged row of six plant pots marks the first terrace level of the elaborately planted slope.

Monet also incorporated blue and white ceramic vessels in a painting that is now part of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, where they line the lower part of the path as containers for red gladioli. Comparing this vertical-format painting, characterized by its open compositional structure, helps to better understand the spatial arrangement of Monet's garden. Although the artist employed a visual formula that radically diverged from the classical rules of landscape composition, he executed his subjects with topographical precision.