Garden art for August by Monet
The many villas under construction in Bordighera in the late 19th century were signs of its burgeoning tourist industry. The Moreno garden became one of the town's attractions at that time and to gain entry, one had to be recommended; Monet managed this by describing himself as 'one of the most distinguished artists in Paris'. The painter spent several weeks with Moreno, who introduced him to the region at his own expense. Monet started work on around 14 paintings here, tackling the region's exotic features, especially the Moreno garden. But he spread himself too thinly, thanks to his busy schedule with Moreno, making it difficult to complete his work. He would rework the paintings when he went back to Giverny, before finally handing them over to the dealer Durand-Ruel in late spring.

27 Aug Garden Art for August by Monet

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Every month, Rosewood likes to share art work with a garden theme.  Throughout 2020 we’ve been looking at paintings by Claude Monet, the father of Impressionism.  Our garden art for August is an oil that Monet executed while staying in Italy.  He was at Bordighera, close to the border with southern France.  Monet asked a friend to try to arrange special permission to visit the famous garden of Francisco Moreno, who was the French Consul in the town.    Monet knew of the garden’s reputation as Italian guide books included it!  However, it was a private garden so he had to ask before attempting to work there.  He managed to get permission and went on to make several art works during 1884.  This one, ‘The Moreno Garden at Bordighera’, looks the epitome of a hot Mediterranean summer, perfect for our August painting.

Moreno’s gardens contained thousands of trees.  They included native Mediterranean trees as well as more exotic specimens like Gingko Biloba and Pinus Canariensis.  In fact, according to a nineteenth century guide, “… the Moreno gardens are not only the most beautiful and most delightful location of the Mediterranean, but also one of the most beautiful and famous gardens of Europe.”

Sadly, the gardens no longer exist, but at the time, they must have been wonderful.   With several Monet paintings to immortalise them, it would be sad to forget the gardens.  So, if you’d like to know more about them, you can click here to view the Moreno Gardens Wikipedia page

And if you’d like to create your own beautiful garden, you know that a Rosewood irrigation system would help to keep it looking its best!  Why not give us a call on 01727 811448 to find out more?