GIVERNY, FRANCE – French Impressionist painter Claude Monet’s home in Giverny, France, is surrounded by lush gardens, vibrant flower beds and a tranquil pond filled with water lilies.
From July 12 to Sept 17, visitors to the Flower Dome at Gardens by the Bay will be able to get an idea of how these picturesque surroundings inspired many of the artist’s most renowned paintings.
The new Impressions Of Monet exhibit transforms the dome into a re-creation of the house and gardens where Monet lived and worked.
The gardens in Giverny still stand today as one of the top tourist attractions in Normandy, in north-western France, attracting about half a million visitors annually.
The exhibit features not only stunning floral displays, but also reproductions of some of Monet’s most celebrated paintings, including pieces from his Water Lilies series.
A multi-sensory experience featuring digital projections, interactive displays and audio-visual elements awaits visitors. The first-of-its-kind exhibition, showcasing not just flowers, but also dynamic displays of light, colour, sound and fragrance, aims to bring Monet’s art to life.
Impressions Of Monet boasts about 18,000 plants of 40 varieties, such as cleomes, delphiniums, digitalis, geraniums, hollyhocks and sunflowers.
In May, The Straits Times joined Mr Mihkaail Ng, deputy director of conservatory operations at Gardens by the Bay, on a trip to France.
On the trip hosted by Gardens by the Bay and supported by official airline partner Turkish Airlines, Mr Ng shared insights into finding inspiration through visits to museums, Monet’s house and gardens in Giverny, and the Latour-Marliac nursery, where the artist purchased his water lilies.