Monet in Giverny: Before the Water Lilies, 1883-1890 

Before the Water Lilies. Monet discovers Giverny, 1883-1890 

On April 29, 1883, Claude Monet moved to Giverny. He would spend the final forty-three years of his life there, tirelessly painting the countryside and, above all, the garden he cultivated as a total work of art. While history often remembers his late Water Lilies and his journey toward abstraction, the foundational years of his time in Giverny are essential to understanding his evolution as a painter. Surprisingly, these early years have never before been the subject of a dedicated exhibition.

Before conceiving his famous water garden, Monet immersed himself in the surrounding nature. This transition was not without its challenges: the artist had to adapt to rural life, provide for a large family, and overcome periods of deep uncertainty. Yet, as he moved from a precarious tenant to a landowner in 1890, he gradually claimed this territory as his own. Whether in his boat on the Seine or walking through the sunken lanes of the village, he chased the light and laid the groundwork for his most celebrated series.

From Vétheuil to Giverny

By the time he arrived in Giverny, Monet had traveled extensively and faced significant hardships. From 1878 to 1881, he lived in Vétheuil, where he created iconic Impressionist works, painting the river, the village church, and the pastoral banks of the Seine. Despite this artistic output, it was a time of struggle, as he lacked the resources to support his family. A year after settling there, tragedy struck: his wife, Camille, passed away on September 5, 1879, at the age of only thirty-two.

Following a disappointing stay in Poissy, Monet sought a landscape that would recapture the happy days he once knew in Argenteuil. He chose Giverny as the place to build a new life with his two sons, his partner Alice Hoschedé, and her six children. There, he rented “Le Pressoir,” a house large enough to accommodate their blended family.

Along the Epte and the Seine

For Monet, water was a permanent compass. Wherever he lived, he sought out its reflections and its fluidity. In Giverny, he returned to the Seine, navigating it in his studio-boat to capture the morning mists and the banks of the nearby islands.

Within the village itself, water is more discreet. It flows through the Epte, whose branches irrigate the meadows and once powered the local mills. Monet learned to master this landscape, painting everything from the austere hamlet of Falaise to the poplars shimmering in the light of the setting sun.

Across the Fields: Haystacks and Poppies

Upon his arrival, Monet began exploring Giverny’s pastoral motifs, gradually moving away from the human figure. Between 1885 and 1890, poppy fields became a favorite subject, allowing him to study how atmospheric variations transformed the brilliant red of the flowers.

He also turned his attention to the haystacks and grainstacks that dotted the fields. What began as a simple element of the agricultural landscape became the heart of an artistic revolution. Between 1890 and 1891, he painted his famous Grainstacks series: twenty-five canvases capturing the passage of time on a single motif.

Beyond Giverny: Monet’s Travels

Though deeply attached to his home, Monet regularly traveled to find fresh inspiration. Until 1886, he frequently returned to the Normandy coast of his childhood to paint the rugged cliffs of Étretat and Pourville.

The expanding railway network allowed him to venture even further. He discovered the radiant light of the Mediterranean in Bordighera and Antibes, the vibrant tulip fields of the Netherlands, the wild coastlines of Belle-Île-en-Mer, and the somber beauty of the Creuse Valley.

Before the Water Lilies: The Garden’s Beginnings

At “Le Pressoir,” Monet found a home that could comfortably house his family while providing a vast canvas for his love of flowers. The original garden was an orchard where, from the moment he arrived, he began planting anemones, peonies, clematis, chrysanthemums, and dahlias.

After finally purchasing the property in 1890, he was able to complete the transformation of the Norman orchard into a lush flower garden. In 1893, he acquired a plot of land across the railroad tracks to create his water garden. The water lily pond would become the ultimate synthesis of Monet’s vision, a blend of his travels in Italy and Holland, the Japanese prints that lined his walls, and the tranquil waters and welcoming meadows of Giverny itself.

Curators: Cyrille Sciama, General Director of the Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny and Chief Heritage Curator, and Marie Delbarre, Research Assistant at the Musée des impressionnismes Giverny

With the support of the Musée Marmottan Monet and the Académie des Beaux-Arts, Paris

Credits:
Claude Monet (1840-1926)
Autoportrait au béret, 1886
Huile sur toile, 56 x 46 cm
Collection particulière
© Tous droits réservés / Roy fox Fine Art Photography

Opening days:

The exhibition is open from March, 27 to July, 5, 2026.

Full price | Concession price

• Adults: €12 | €9
• Audioguide : €4/person (FR or EN)

Free entry for:

• Visitors under 18.
• All individual visitors on the first Sunday of the months of April, May and June.
• Eure residents on the first Sunday of the month of July (proof of residency required)

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