June 15th: The Perspectives of an Environment

When I was seven years old, my bedroom walls held an assortment of different posters and pieces of artwork. One specific item was a calendar that contained different works of art by Claude Monet. At the time, I knew little about Monet or his gardens. Yet, I knew that I liked the calendar and the paintings inside of it. So, when I finally walked through his gardens this June, I had a moment of disbelief of finally seeing the landscapes that had surrounded my childhood. These landscapes were my first introductions to painting and undoubtedly influenced my later passion for the fine arts.

Walking through the gardens was a visceral experience. It felt like walking through a piece of artwork. In fact, the gardens were a carefully crafted expression of natural and artistic beauty. Each flower and color seemed purposeful. However, Monet’s paintings, which were my first experiences of the garden, informed my perspective throughout the environment. I viewed each flower and color as a brush stroke and a gradient of paint. Other senses were activated by the smells and sounds of the garden. These elements brought the garden alive in ways that Monet’s paintings failed to do. Thus, Monet’s gardens were experienced through two lenses. I viewed the gardens as Monet had painted them and then again, through the lens of how they naturally appeared. This dual experience allowed me to understand how Monet experienced his artwork and how an environment can alter the painting process.

Comparatively, our later visit to the Musee de l’Orangerie resulted in a different visceral experience. There, I experienced Monet’s water lilies again. However, this visit was impacted by my experience in Giverny. Walking through the galleries, I experienced the water lilies throughout a natural day. Through, dawn, day, and dusk, I experienced the lilies. This time, there were no sounds or smells, but still the experience was enlivening because Monet’s gardens had in return informed me of his paintings.

It is important to recognize how one’s experiences and environment alters their later experiences. In my case, a simple calendar was the acting force on my experience of some of the most famous pieces of art. Yet, without that calendar, I may have never dreamed of Monet’s gardens or envisioned myself in his landscapes. Those first images and experiences activated my first visual memories and made my experience throughout Monet’s gardens even more significant that day.