From Sargent to Sorolla, Jonas Wood to Winston Churchill, Berkshire to Bali
— how artists have found solace and inspiration in gardens the world over
1Édouard Manet (1832-1883)The Monet Family in Their Garden at Argenteuil,
1874
On a summer’s day in 1874, Édouard Manet had just finished posing Claude
Monet’s wife Camille and son Jean in the garden of the family home near Paris
when their friend and fellow painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir appeared. Inspired
by the scene but woefully unprepared, Renoir asked to borrow a canvas, a brush
and some paint from Monet, so he could stand alongside and paint Monet’s family
at the same time.
Edouard Manet, The Monet Family in Their
Garden at Argenteuil, 1874. Oil on canvas. 61 x 99.7 cm. The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York. Bequest of Joan Whitney Payson, 1975. Photo: © The
Metropolitan Museum of Art / Art Resource / Scala, Florence
Monet’s garden at his rented house at Argenteuil was filled with mature
trees and flowerbeds bursting with dahlias, poppies and hollyhocks, and while
Manet painted him in this picture tending to his precious garden, in reality
that afternoon Monet was standing behind both Manet and Renoir, also with brush
in hand, painting Manet in a now lost work.
Later that day,
Manet turned to Monet and said of Renoir: ‘He has no talent, that boy! Since
you are his friend, tell him to give up painting!’
2Gustav Klimt
(1862-1918)Farm Garden with Sunflowers, 1905-06
Farm Garden with
Sunflowers was painted during one of
Gustav Klimt’s annual summer holidays at Lake Attersee, in the mountains
outside Salzburg. It is thought that the unusual composition, with clusters of
small flowers growing right the way up the canvas — higher, in fact, than the
heads of the sunflowers — reflects the garden having been planted on a steep
slope.
Gustav Klimt, Farm Garden with Sunflowers, 1905-6. Oil on canvas,
110 x 110 cm. Osterreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna, Austria. Photo Artothek Bridgeman Images
Klimt’s use of thick
brush strokes and pure colours in his flower paintings was, in part, inspired
by his visit to a Van Gogh exhibition at the Galerie Mietthke in Veinna. By
adopting the Dutch painter’s techniques and applying them to his own style of
‘Impressionism meets Pointillism’, Klimt was able to create these impactful,
verdant pictures.
3John Singer Sargent (1856-1925)Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, 1885-86
Every evening for three months in 1885, the American artist John Singer
Sargent would carefully arrange his models — 11-year-old Polly and seven-year-old
Dolly, the daughters of the illustrator Frederick Barnard — in the gardens of
Farnham House in Worcestershire, England. Then, he would paint rapidly for two
to three minutes to capture the light of the setting sun. The house belonged to
the American artist F.D. Millet, with whom Sargent was staying, and the
original subject of this painting had been Millet’s son.
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), Carnation,
Lily, Lily, Rose, 1885-86. Oil on canvas. 218.5 x 197 cm. Photo © Tate
As autumn encroached
and the light began to fade, Sargent had to replace the white lilies with
artificial replicas. In the summer of 1886 he returned to the
painting, this time in the garden of nearby Russell House, and finished it that
October.
4The Master of the Tiburtine Sibyl The Virgin and Child in a Walled Garden,
1468
This is an important early devotional painting by the Master of the
Tiburtine Sibyl, an anonymous master who is thought to have travelled to
Haarlem sometime around 1480-82, where he established a thriving workshop.
This setting is a
reference to the hortus conclusus, a sacred precinct dedicated to the Virgin
and an earthly representation of Paradise. Mary’s luxurious robes reflect her
status as Queen of Heaven. With her left hand, she picks one of three flowers
from a single plant on the stone ledge that serves as her throne. These small
white flowers may be read as a symbol of the Trinity.
On the ground before them are wild strawberries, emblematic of the wounds
of Christ. This fruit may also represent the Trinity, since the leaves on the
stems of wild strawberry plants occur in sets of three.
5Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919)Woman with a Parasol in a Garden, 1875
In Woman with a Parasol in a Garden, Pierre-Auguste Renoir brilliantly
creates the impression of a summer garden by applying flicks of pale pink,
yellow, red, blue and green paint using the end of a large brush. The scene he creates
is a wild, verdant landscape filled with light, movement and texture.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Woman with a Parasol in a Garden, 1875. Oil
on canvas. 54.5 x 65 cm. Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid. Photo
Bridgeman Images
It is thought that Renoir painted Woman with a Parasol in a Garden at his studio in Montmartre, in 1875 or 1876.
The studio was
surrounded by a large garden, and Renoir's friend, the art critic George
Rivière, recalled the moment the painter first laid eyes on the space: ‘As soon
as Renoir entered the house he was charmed by the view of this garden, which
looked like a beautiful abandoned park’.
6Stanley Spencer
(1891-1959)Wisteria at Englefield, 1954
Sir Stanley
Spencer's Wisteria at Englefield was
painted across five weeks in the spring of 1954 in Cookham, Berkshire. It was
the third of five commissions from Gerard Shiel, the owner of Englefield House,
which was known locally for its gardens.
Sir Stanley Spencer, R.A. (1891-1959), Wisteria at Englefield,
1954. Oil on canvas. 30 x 20 in (76.3 x
50.8 cm). Sold for £962,500 on 25 June
2015 at Christie’s in London. Artwork © Stanley Spencer Gallery, Cookham,
Berkshire, UK Bridgeman Images
The finely detailed foliage of the wisteria’s finishing bloom, which
consumes the contrasting brickwork, highlights Spencer’s skill and analytical
eye when painting en plein air — as well as his love of his native Cookham, a
place he called his ‘village in heaven’.
7Claude Monet (1840-1926)La Maison de l’artiste à Giverny, 1912
‘I owe it to flowers that I became a painter,’ Claude Monet, the most
famous painter of gardens, once said. The garden the artist created at his home
in Giverny attracts more than 600,000 visitors each year.
Claude Monet (1840-1926), La Maison de
lartiste à Giverny, 1913. Oil on canvas. 28¾ x 36¼ (73 x 92 cm). Sold for $4,711,500 on 3 November 2004
at Christie’s in New York
Alongside the famous
lily pond, Monet created a classic French flower garden — seen here from the
northwest. In dozens of beds laid out at right angles
along gravel paths, Monet planted roses, poppies, peonies, lilies, foxgloves
and arches of climbing clematis, all carefully planned to provide changing
seasons of colour.
8Joaquín Sorolla (1863-1923)Louis Comfort Tiffany, 1911
In May 1911 Louis Comfort Tiffany invited the Spanish painter Joaquín
Sorolla to Laurelton Hall, his 84-room Moorish mansion set on 580 acres on Long
Island.
Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida, Louis Comfort Tiffany, 1911. Oil on
canvas, 162.6 x 238.8 cm. Gift of Mrs Francis M. Weld (née Julia DeForest
Tiffany), 1950. Courtesy of the Hispanic Society of America, New York
Although formal
portraiture was not Sorolla’s preference, he could usually be persuaded by the
prospect of sunlight and painting outdoors. Tiffany, dressed in a crisp summer
suit, posed with his dog before his own easel.
The setting is
Laurelton’s waterfront patio, surrounded by huge, dense blooms of potted
yellow, white and purple flowers, with the shimmering waters of Long Island
Sound in the background. Laurelton hall burnt down in the 1950s; the painting
is now owned by the Hispanic Society of America.
9Adrien-Jean le
Mayeur de Merprès (1880-1958)Women Around the Lotus Pond, 1950-51
In 1932, aged 52, the Belgian artist Adrien-Jean le Mayeur de Merprès
decided to settle on Bali. ‘There are three things in life that I love,’ he
said. ‘Beauty, sunlight and silence. Now could you tell me where to find these
in a more perfect state than in Bali?’
Adrien-Jean le Mayeur de Merprès (1880-1958), Women Around the
Lotus Pond, circa 1950-1951. Oil on canvas. 150 x 200 cm (59 x
78¾ in). Sold for HK$30,360,000 on 30
May 2016 at Christie’s in Hong Kong. Artwork © DACS 2020
Le Mayeur de
Merprès’ Women Around the Lotus Pond
depicts a group of 15 Balinese dancers parading around an ornamental
pond decorated with Hindu carvings. The tropical oranges, reds and yellows cast a
warm glow over their faces and bodies, just as the pink water of the pool
reflects the sunlight streaming through the vines.
10Vincent van Gogh
(1853-1890)Daubigny’s Garden, 1890
Two months before
taking his own life, Vincent van Gogh relocated from an asylum in Provence to
Auvers-sur-Oise, just outside Paris. ‘It is profoundly beautiful,’ he wrote to
his brother Theo. ‘It is the real country, characteristic and picturesque.’
Vincent van Gogh, Daubigny’s Garden, June 1890. Oil on canvas, 50.7
x 50.7 cm. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam. Photo Bridgeman Images
Auvers-sur-Oise was
also where one of van Gogh’s favourite artists, Charles-François Daubigny
(1817-1878), had lived. Daubigny was a celebrated landscape painter and Van
Gogh was eager to paint the garden of his former home.
Lacking the
essential materials, he decided to use only what he had to hand — a red and
white tea towel, possibly taken from the kitchen of the Auberge Ravoux, a local
inn where he was staying. He covered the cloth with a thick, pink layer of
ground which can still be glimpsed between the powerful, fluid strokes of
paint.
11Winston Churchill (1874-1965)Garden Scene, circa early 1920s
Deflated by the horrors of World War I, where his ill-planned Gallipoli
strategy had cost him his job, Winston Churchill turned to painting as a means
for solace. ‘[It] came to my rescue in a most trying time,’ he later wrote in
his book, Painting as a Pastime.
The statesman possessed a natural flair, working mostly en plein air around
the British countryside. ‘Just to paint is great fun,’ he once remarked. ‘The
colours are lovely to look at and delicious to squeeze out.’
Sir Winston Churchill, O.M., R.A. (1874-1965),
Garden Scene, painted in the early 1920s. 29 x 24 in (73.6 x 61
cm). Sold for £170,500 on 21 June 2016 at Christie’s in London
Garden Scene was most likely painted in the grounds of Knebworth House in
Hertfordshire, which was at the time owned by Lady Constance Bulwer-Lytton, a
radical suffragette who in 1909 had been sent to prison for throwing a stone at
the Chancellor of the Exchequer Lloyd George’s car. Today, Churchill’s studio
at Chartwell, his former home in Kent, is run by the National Trust.
12Jan Brueghel II (1601-1678) and Hendrick van Balen (1575-1632)The Madonna
and Child Seated in a Garden with Putti, Birds and Animals, 1626-27
This painting has been dated to 1626-27, just after Jan Brueghel II’s
return from Italy following the unexpected death of his father, Jan Brueghel
the Elder.
Jan Brueghel II (Antwerp 1601-1678) and
Hendrick van Balen (Antwerp 1575-1632), The Madonna and Child Seated in a
Garden with Putti, Birds and Animals. Oil on panel. 32⅛ x 47¾ in (81.5 x 121.3 cm). Sold for £388,750 on 11 July 2001 at
Christie’s in London
Jan Brueghel the
Younger chose to represent paradise as a garden of potted plants, with a
fountain just visible in the background. His finely detailed flowers, leaves
and fruits are testament to his skill as a painter of still lifes, as well as
the 17th-century obsession with studying the natural sciences. In fact, his
father was given the nickname ‘Flower Brueghel’. The staffage in this work was
painted by the Antwerp-born artist Hendrick van Balen (1575-1632).
13John Leslie Breck
(1860-1899)Garden, Ironbound Island, Maine, circa 1896
A pioneer of the
early American Impressionist movement, John Leslie Breck spent several years at
Giverny in the inner circle of Claude Monet, who undoubtedly influenced both
the subject matter and stylistic execution of his garden paintings.
This is the garden
of a house belonging to Margaret Blaney, the daughter of Breck’s fellow
American Impressionist Dwight Blaney. The house is situated on Ironbound, a
private island owned by the Blaneys in Maine, near Frenchman Bay.
John Leslie Breck (1860-1899), Garden, Ironbound Island, Maine,
painted circa 1896. Oil on canvas. 28½ x 48½
in (72.4 x 123.2 cm). Sold for
$1,447,500 on 22 November 2016 at Christie’s in New York
Monet’s influence is
evident in In Garden, Ironbound Island, Maine, although the distinct New
England landscape and the vibrant, high-keyed palette distinguish Breck’s brand
of Impressionism. And as the historical garden expert May Brawley Hill points
out, contemporary photographs of Margaret Blaney’s garden show there were few
flowers, suggesting that Breck employed his artistic license when painting such
an ‘an unlikely profusion’.
14English SchoolKing
Charles II Being Presented with a Pineapple by the Royal Gardener, John Rose,
in the Formal Gardens of an Estate, circa 1677
The garden and house
in this painting are probably fictitious but represent the formal style
employed by John Rose, the King’s Gardener, who also oversaw the gardens of St.
James’s Park (opposite Buckingham Palace). Rose published The English Vineyard
Vindicated in 1666 with a dedication to
Charles II: ‘The Prince of Plants to the Prince of Planters’.
English School, circa 1677, King Charles II Being Presented with a
Pineapple by the Royal Gardener, John Rose, in the Formal Gardens of an Estate,
1677. Oil on canvas. 36⅝ x 43⅛ in (91.1 x
109.5 cm). Sold for £488,750 on 5 July
2018 at Christie’s in London
John Parkinson, Royal Botanist to his father, Charles I, had given the
exotic, highly prized pineapple its name, describing it as ‘scaly like an
artichoke at the first view, but more like a cone of the Pine tree, which we
call a pineapple for the forme… being so sweete in smell… [tasting] as if wine,
rosewater and sugar were mixed together’.
15Jonas Wood (b.
1977)Japanese Garden 3, 2019
The American artist
Jonas Wood is best known for his paintings of potted plants and hanging
baskets, which fill his Los Angeles studio. In Japanese Garden 3, though, the
artist expands on his interest in leafy expanses. The canvas shows influences
of Matisse and Calder, but most especially, the paintings of David Hockney.
Jonas Wood (b. 1977), Japanese Garden 3, 2019. Oil and acrylic on canvas. 88 x 98 in (223.5 x 248.9 cm). Sold for $4,928,500
on 15 May 2019 at Christie’s in New York
‘Hockney has always
pushed the boundaries as a representational painter. That’s why I’m drawn to
him — because of this constant invention,’ acknowledges Wood.
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