May 6, 2008

Did you know, when the painter Claude Monet moved to his house in Giverny, France, and began painting the beautiful landscape in the surrounding area, namely poplar trees and haystacks, that the owner of a certain forest that Monet had been painting told the artist that unless he was paid a fee, he would cut the trees down? Oh yes he did. And once word got out that Monet would pay money to keep his painting's subject matter intact, other wily townsfolk started blackmailing him, too. I suppose in a strange way, the greedy townsfolk should have been thanked because in the end, Monet painted those famous waterlilies from his own gardens.

I didn't know that about Monet until I read artists' houses by Gerard-Georges Lemaire. It's a fascinating book about the homes of several well-known artists, including the Bloomsbury Group, Alphonse Mucha, Andre Derain and Claude Monet. The gorgeous photographs in the book are by Jean-Claude Amiel.

It's so interesting to see what these artists collected over their lives be it rare Japanese prints, grotesque carnival masks, personally-designed furniture or a mishmash of bowls and paintings left by guests and roommates.

One of my favourite rooms is the studio of painter Duncan Grant of the Bloomsbury Group.  I like how every inch of the room seems covered in artwork and that the paint colours on the walls are just a little bit odd. Like that lime-green-yellow on the right. And then look at the wall behind the mirror...it's covered in random dark brushstrokes.

Talk about an interesting read... There were so many affairs and open relationships occurring under these roofs! Well, except for Monet. His wife threatened to move out of the house if he hired a female model. I'm surprised that Hollywood hasn't picked up this. Okay, I'm not really that surprised. Maybe the BBC has...?

Comments

[Yoli]

Thank you for the this bit of history I did not know. Love to see what inspires artists.

[Isabel]

This sounds like a great book. Since I was a little kid in Portugal, I always loved to watch documentaries on television about the lifes of painters, artists, writers. Now, I am a fan of Biography Channel.
My kids grew up seeing movies from "Linnea in Monet's Garden" to
Mary Cassatt: American Impressionists.
HBO and PBS used to show some of these movies, but not lately.
Here is a list of some of my favorites: "Monet's Palate","Monet Shadow & Light", "Mary Cassatt:a Brush With Independence",
"Degas and the Dance - The Man Behind the Easel", and one of my most favorites Vincent: The Life and Death of Vincent Van Gogh.
But there are so many more.

[Gillian]

What a great idea for a book. I've always been intrigued by the Bloomsbury group and that house does look interesting. Thanks for telling us about all this. x

[Debbie Schramer]

I've gotten this book before from the library. It is a wonderful book. I, too, love seeing artist's studios. It's so fascinating to see how other artists live and what inspires them. I wish someone would do a book about more recent (in our life time) artists.....there's so many artists that I would love to learn more about!! Thanks for sharing about that great book. I'll have to check it out again!
Debbie

[Pherenike]

Hey thats so fascinating. I loved looking around the home of Frida Khalo when i visited Mexico. Perhaps you should buy the rights to produce Artists Houses as a blockbuster?!

[Art Tea Life]

I am on the lookout for THIS !

Thanks for the tip.

[annieelf]

What an interesting read this will be. I'm adding this book to my Good Reads list. Thanks.

[stephanie]

Looks like a beautiful book! I'm writing this down right now....

[Rachel]

To add to Isabel's list: "Vincent and Theo" about Van Gogh, starring Tim Roth. There's also a recent movie about Klimt starring John Malkovich on my Netflix list.

[jenni]

Thanks for sharing. Now I want that book.

[le petit cabinet de curiosites]

interesting post ! You are right Hollywood should make a movie