JACK-DAYTRIP FROM PARIS-GIVERNY AND MONET(3)-AMERICAN MUSEUM
Jack
the Loire, Belgium and Holland posts are visible with pictures on
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Also my Paris sketches and series about Paris bridges are on
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DAYTRIP FROM PARIS-GIVERNY AND MONET(3)-AMERICAN MUSEUM
Another place not to miss in Giverny is the MUSEE AMERICAIN:
To reflect the American presence in Giverny, an American museum opened
his doors, rue Claude Monet 99. Open from April 1 to October 31.
Closed on Monday.
Claude Monet and his Impressionism had a lot of influence on American
artists, what turned Giverny already before WW I to an American artist
colony. The first wave of Americans visiting this region was in 1880,
the second wave from 1895 to 1920. To enlighten and explain the
influence of American art at the origin, the American maecenas Daniel
J.Terra, the creator of the American Art museum of Chicago, financed
this excellent museum that opened in 1992. One could fear now that the
Americans would land in Giverny with their heavy pointed boots,
pulling the sheet towards them. Surprise!!! Absolutely not! Now here
is a modern museum, with sober and discreet lines, in white stone,
hidden in a contemporary art designed garden, which managed to be
harmoniously engulfed in a fragile environment. Hats off for the
architects and designers! Permanent exhibitions since 1992.
The objective of the museum is to show the importance of the bonds of
the French and American painting of the 19th and beginning 20th
century. The halls are perfectly lit by diffused natural light. The
museum presents essentially works of American artists who worked in
Giverny and had contacts with Monet. In the cellars there is almost
every day a motion picture "In Open Air". After the visit, you can
have a drink or have a bite on a delicious terrace.
Where did all these artist friends of Monet lodge? Surely not at his
house, he was not that hospitable ;-) In HOTEL BAUDY 81, rue Claude
Monet, also only opened from April 1 to October 31.
You can visit the pretty garden behind the house, the idyllic and
adorable little atelier and the dining room. Metcalf was the first
American painter came and hired a room here. Others followed,
numerous, coming back every weekend by train. The hotel Baudy became a
meeting point of artists: Robinson, Butler, Mary Cassatt, Frieske,
Sargent and a lot others sojourned at the place. To tell you the
truth. I think it’s not so rewarding, expensive visit
Bibliography
A little tour in France, by James Henry (ed.Farrar, New-York 1983),
Guide du Routard 1998 (ed.Hachette), Normandie, pays de miel et de
lait, by J. Kahane (ed. Duseuil, Paris 1972), Le monde retrouvé des
Impressionistes, by Bellony-Rewald A.(ed.Seghers Paris 1977), Claude
Monet, sa vie, son temps, son oeuvre, by G.Geoffroy (Paris 1922)-Sur
les pas des Impressionisted, by Sophie Monneret, (ed.de la Martiniere
1997)
Jack
My Paris,daytrips from Paris, Provence, Cote d'Azur, valley of the
Loire, Normandy, Belgium and Holland posts are open again at
http: http://www.jack-travel.com WITH pictures and at
http://home.mminternet.com/~nowhere_man