Monet a Giverny

Gardening has a French soul --at its best, it combines the artistic use of colors and textures with the terroir. And Claude Monet was a master gardener! Giverny was Monet's home for more than 40 years, and the gardens were the subject of many of his most famous paintings. We left the heat of Paris behind on Wednesday, and drove to Giverny --less than 40 miles from Paris-- to see the gardens in their full summer bloom (I would like to see them in every season, but we will need to come back during a spring again!).
Monet and his "families", his close family friend and patron, Alice Hoschede and her 6 children, moved into the house to take care of Monet and his young children (his first wife Camille died in 1879 when he was 39 years old). Alice and Monet were married in 1892 a year after the death of Alice's husband Ernest. ( Les familles recomposees are not a new French phenomenon and the tradition continues --the number of marriages is about half of what it was in 1950 for a population that is now 60 million as opposed to 40 million.)
The house is a rambling, old house to which Monet added his studios and kitchen in place of the old barns which were connected to the house. The dining room is painted in two tones of yellow and overlooks the terrace and the gardens. As they had a large family and many guests, the dining room table easily accommodates 15! The kitchen is tiled with blue and white patterned tiles and painted in shades of blue... his collection of copper pans is hung, "lovingly polished by the staff" as the guidebook explains! These are rooms of people who love to cook and eat --it's France and it's about the food! (The guidebook explains that Monet loved good food and wine and also had some of his own recipes.)


These views are of the front of the house. The flower gardens were established where there once was an orchard (the house had been named Le Pressoir --the Fruit Press House), and the main pathway to the house from the road below was an allee of cypress and spruce trees. Monet had the orchard and the trees removed, and he created a rambling, natural garden that is not in the French style of closely trimmed trees and shrubs and a precise pattern of planted flowers. He installed large arches as rose arbors to span this straight pathway where the cypress and spruce had been.


Although the pathways remain straight, they are bordered by plants like these nasturtiums (les capucines (f) en francais) which are climbers and wanderers and do not do straight lines! These summer gardens are a profusion of flowering annuals and perennials (although most of the perennials are spring flowering and thus, display foliage in August). There are also dahlias of many hues and sizes. The flowers include (a short list only!) cleomes, geraniums, zinnias, gladiolus (and they are NOT all orange!), cosmos, salvias of many colors, black-eyed susans, pinks, fuchsias, verbena, and on and on.....



And so you may ask....where are the waterlilies???
In 1893, Monet purchased the land across the street and rail road line from his house along a small tributary of the Epte River, the Ru. He had to go through the process of the then environmental permitting to change the course of the Ru and add dams to create the pond. All of this is his creation --the pond, the Japanese bridges, the plantings. He chose the bamboos, wisterias, aganapathes, marsh marigolds --and the waterlilies for their colors and textures. Structure is provided by the weeping willows, hydrangeas, azaleas and other shrubs and small flowering trees. This entire pond area looks natural, but as any gardeners know, there is ordered chaos here --all controlled with loppers and pruning shears! (Monet kept small boats tied up for both him and his gardeners for gazing --and grazing!)






It may be difficult to see in these small photos, but the floating waterlilies -les nympheas- lie flat and do not have a reflection --and as they float on the surface, they break up both the reflections and the texture and perception of depth on the surface of the pond. Quite amazing --but from the master of light, what less could be expected...
"Apart from painting and gardening, I'm not good at anything." Monet.

Giverny was opened by the Claude Monet Foundation in 1980 after being "refurbished". The estate was given to the Academy of Beaux Arts in 1966 after his son Michael was killed in a car accident. The house had not been maintained since 1947 when Monet's daughter-in-law Blanche (Alice's daughter who had married Monet's other son, John, who died in 1914) passed away. The paintings in the house were given to the Marmottan-Monet museum in Paris (a must see!)



The largest Les Nympheas went to the Orangerie in 1927 after his death. He was persuaded by his friend George Clemenceau to give eight of them to France (he had offered two as a gift to celebrate the end of WW I) to be installed in the oval shaped rooms specifically designed for them in the Orangerie --but he would not deliver them while he was alive!



The restoration (there were plants growing through the walls in the studios) was funded by various groups within France --the Institut de France, the region of Eure, and other French groups and individuals. There were many American benefactors as well, including the American Ambassador Walter Annenberg, who paid for the access to the waterlily pond under the road that separates the property.

On June 25, 2008, one group of four of Monet's large waterlilies paintings, Le Bassin aux Nympheas, sold for more that $80 million to an anonymous private collector. This same painting was purchased by the sellers for $320,000 in 1971. The previous highest price for a Monet was in April, 2008. The Railway Bridge at Argenteuil sold for more than $41 million to another anonymous buyer (reportedly the Nahmad family --look them up on the web-- it is another world). In 1868, Monet attempted suicide by throwing himself into the Seine, distraught over his financial situation. One has to wonder, would any of these buyers have supported him then? And do any of these buyers support young artists now? And for all this money, who gets to see these works? Not any grubby gardeners.

Encore Provence!

I once heard someone say that you make your own luck --and I took this comment to heart-- and I have become a believer. Our trip to Provence was spectacularly lucky!
As you may have surmised by seeing the pictures of the lavender (and believe me there are many, many more pictures!), that the main purpose of this vacances was to soak up the sensory delights of those lavender fields. The colors, the smell of the lavender, the buzzing of the bees in the otherwise silent fields, the softness of the lavender flowers and the lingering scent on my fingers, the intense blue skies (and yes, lavender reduces stress, anxiety, and promotes relaxation...) --and yet this region of Provence had much more to offer --the Gorges du Verdon, the hilltop town of Moustiers-Ste. Marie, Castellane, Lac St. Croix.... and when I planned the trip, I did not realize (or have any idea that the Gorges du Verdon were second only to the Grand Canyon in length!) how amazing this corner of Provence would be!
The town of Moustiers-Ste. Marie is nestled between two hilltops, and has winding little streets and bridges over the river that cascades from the limestone cliffs. What is most notable is a star, suspended from a chain (a mere 750 feet long) in between these two cliffs, and over the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Beavoir. This chapel is above the town (and yes, also reached by a long winding set of stairs with the Stations of the Cross to contemplate as you catch your breath on the way up --or catch yourself on the way down as all those pilgrims have polished the stones of the steps and path smoother than beach pebbles!)


And the story... a knight, the Crusades, and the promise... and viola! The star!
During one one of the Crusades in the 13th century, a knight of the house/family of Blacas was captured by the Saracens. He made a vow to hang a star between the two cliffs over the village if he returned home. The legend continues that he hung a 16 point star, the symbol of his family. It has fallen and the chain has been replaced several times since, and the star that is hanging now bears the date and the initials of the person who replaced it last, J.Martin: J.M. 1882.
Many of these religious "installations",(oratoires en francais ) like the shrines that adorn many buildings and roadways throughout France and other parts of Europe are the result of vows and prayerful thanksgivings. And the belief of miracles has been the impetus for many pilgrimages. However, the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Beauvoir was a pilgrimage site different from any I have seen...

The signs explain that the chapel was known since the 9th century when it was referred to as "Notre-Dame d'Entre-Roches (Notre Dame between the Rocks). The chapel was re-named in the 12th century, and became a pilgrimage site due to miracles attributed to the Virgin Mary. These beliefs were encouraged by the Church who gave --or more often sold-- indulgences to the pilgrims. However, in the 17th century, these pilgrimages became "une forme particuliere"... pilgrims would bring still-born children with the belief that they would be resuscitated for several seconds, and they could then be baptized. Being baptized meant that they could be buried in religious cemeteries, and their souls saved from spending eternity in Limbo... and all of us who went to Catholic school or catechism remember the sad pictures of Limbo with all these babies and little kids forever waiting...
Besides indulgences, Moustiers is also famous for its pottery --faience. The technique was brought from Faenza, Italy, by a monk who taught Pierre Clerissey of Moustiers in 1679 how to make these glazed ceramics. The traditional colors are blue on white and combine mythological and hunting scenes among others (some are quite fantastic in their subjects!). Hardly the daily dishes of the common folk, the production of this faience ended in the late 18th century (think Revolution 1789), and the tradition was revived in 1925 by Marcel Provence. Given the number of shops selling these pieces the revival was successful! However, they do have an Italian look about them... like pieces from Italy that were treasured by my grandmother.


Now on to deep thoughts--the Gorges du Verdon!
The river and its tributaries responsible for cutting these deep chasms through the limestone cliffs of Provence is the Verdon. These rivers begin in the Alps which are directly north and east of Provence --the Gorges are actually in the department named Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. Dams were built on the Verdon in the late 1960's and early 1970's creating a number of artificial --but beautiful-- lakes as well as producing hydro-power (the lakes were built by EDF --Electricite de France). (I have to date myself --I have a fairly good understading of the geography of Europe, and lakes are mostly in the mountains --Lake Geneva, Lake Como, Lake Garda, Lake Lucerne, etc. Lac St. Croix is a large lake, and it is in Provence which is rather dry. I was feeling a bit embarassed about not recalling a major geographical feature like this --and then I read that it was inauguruated in 1973...)



There are breath-taking drives along both sides of the Gorges and places to hike down to the canyon floor and the river (we did not have the chance to walk down those steps and I did not see the stations of the cross for resting places nor an ancenseur for the trip back up!)



We were so lucky --these ibexes were at the entrance to one of the tunnels and we were able to stop to see them!
There are two exceptional viewing routes --one on the rive droite-- the Routes des Cretes and one on the rive gauche, the Corniche Sublime. One of the most fascinating aspects of these gorges is the orientation of the rock --you can almost sense the pushing and upheaval during those millions of years ago by the dizzying angles of the cliffs and the faults... for safety reasons, I had to forgo taking some rather dramatic photos as the road was narrow and the shoulder was more suitable to flying!



In the photo below, you can see the path to the bottom of the canyon to the right --note car park...


Our trip back over a few days took us up through Grenoble and then west towards Lyon with a final stop in the Burgundy at Autun.

The 12th century sculptor, Gislebertus' capital showing Judas --in the Autun cathedral... more to come!

Buona Fortuna!

The Gorges of the Verdon have been around from millions of years, so they can wait a few days for me to post them in all their magnificence! And I can share a few photos of another magnificent place --Venice!
David had the opportunity to participate in a meeting for two days about the gates that are being built to protect Venice during the storms that cause the flooding --and there was NO WAY that I would not accompany him! We had not been to Venice in more than 30 years --and it is still the same (well, there really are not many opportunities for real estate development --thankfully!) except it seems more prosperous (and more heavily tourist-ed...).
There is little one can say about Venice that is not surpassed by some pictures --except that it was so wonderful to be able to recognize and love everything on the menu --spaghetti alle vongole, al nero de seppia, risotto primavera, fritte miste, pasta e fagoli! France may be about the food --but remember WHERE it came from!! (Although there is no Italian equivalent of the French cheeses, and the essence of terroir as manifested from olive oil to wine...)

I spent the days (while David was in his meetings) with another woman (her husband is at MIT in civil engineering and is chairing the committee) just walking through the city, which is the best thing to do in Venice... so I'll share some sights...



As you know, Venetian glass is world renowned for its colors and creativity. Glass-making has been a Venetian art since the 12th century, coming from Constantinople when the crusades sacked the city and the artisans fled (another story of the Church going after those with different beliefs, this time the Eastern Orthodox. And this crusade, the 4th, started in France and got the Venetians to help out --they split the spoils... and I wondered why the Church was a target during the French Revolution... all this destruction, murder and pillaging --sounds like Iraq). The glass factories were moved to the island of Murano, just off Venice, in the 13th century to prevent fires. There are still craftsmen (I did not see any women!) working there, although some younger artists work on the mainland of Venice. We took advantage of the free water taxi ride out to Murano to see the factory and walk through the galleries --there are some incredible pieces, as well as pieces that my grandmother would have loved-- and there are some museum quality pieces. The use of the old techniques like the millefiori rods in contemporary applications produces some wonderful effects --and of course the colors are stunning! (I did succumb to a small pendant lampshade that I found after looking at hundreds of them in the shops that line every little calle or canal!)



If we have buona fortuna we will return in late October! Ciao!
(29 juillet- we will be going in October as David will be joining the group!)

La lavande, le lavendin...

We have no grass to cut, no flower beds to edge, no vegetable garden to weed. Thus it is July and we took a trip! I have been lavending (pining in the right species!) to see the lavender in bloom in Provence for more years than I have been raising lavender! And this is the first time we are here to catch the blooming season --and we timed it perfectly for the area of the Drome, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, and Vaucluse (it is all part of our idea of Provence...) to see the fields in their full glory. And we got to see a few other minor things like the Gorges of Verdon which are second in depth only to the Grand Canyon. We also got to see the sun --every day!
Several years ago while visiting our friends Jacqueline and Philippe, they brought us to Jacqueline's dad's country house in Crest (in the departement of the Drome), a fabulous old country home with gardens, views, and a magnificent field that was planted with sunflowers across the road (sometimes it is bit less picturesque when the farmer plants garlic rather than sunflowers!). There are some exquisite hilltop towns in the area, and Le-Poet-Laval was one of our absolute favorites (there is no poet --the translation has to do with a hill top of the valley). There is a charming hotel in the old town with an outside terrace for dining... winding little streets too small for cars, views of the mountains... I had been Droming to return --we spent the 4th of July there!



Mid-morning we left for Provence and drove through mountains and fields --some lavender, some olives, some wheat, and sunflowers. Nyons, which is famous for its olives and oil, was our stop for lunch.



Our destination was Allemagne-en-Provence, un petit village, and a charming chambres de hotes where we spent 4 days in the country (these are "bed and breakfast" type accommodations, and Domaine Bertrandy was also a tables de hotes, which served dinner to the guests). This is a fabulous and relatively less expensive way to travel in France, and the bonus is that you get to meet guests from all over. We had dinner on their patio three nights and enjoyed the company, sharing of travel information, and relaxing outside --and a great meal! (In this area of Provence, there are many camping opportunities, but very few hotels, so these accommodations are well used by tourists --including many French tourists.)


A little botanical history lesson: la lavande is the "true" lavender that grows wild in in Provence --like thyme, marjoram, bay leaf, rosemary-- together these are the classic herbes de provence (sometimes with addition of basil). La lavande grows wild at higher elevations (2000 to 4500 ft.) and is propagated by seeds; the flowers stalks are smaller and the scent is more delicate. The planting of lavender fields at these elevations is a 20th century phenomenon (it was picked in the wild as extra income), and enabled farmers to use this rocky and dry area productively (I do not think that they anticipated the tourist draw that this would create --car loads of Dutch, Germans, Brits, and the occasional Americans taking memory cards full of purple fields and blue skies!). It is used for perfumes --and in the true tradition of terroir, the essential oil of la lavande de Haute-Provence has an AOC designation. It grows on and is cultivated on Mont Ventoux and Montagne de Lure and is wild other places within these elevations. The photos were taken at the rim of Gorges du Verdon.


Lavendin is cultivated at lower elevations and it is the (at least in my gardener's opinion) lavender augustifolia that we often plant in New England. It has long flower stalks and that uniform dome shape that makes such a show of color. Although it is less fragrant, it is more prolific and is used for lavender scented products. And... it is more showy! It is propagated by stem cutting as the seeds are sterile and must be replanted every 5-7 years. (which I discovered with great disappointment when the two magnificent lavendin plants I had on my patio were dead one spring --of course I blamed our erratic New England winters!) The Valensole Plain (just above where we stayed) has the most magnificent fields.....



As the last picture shows, it was windy up at this elevation even on a hot day. Another product produced here is lavender honey and you can imagine how many bees are in these fields --they hum! With the wind and the bees, the fields almost shimmer as they are in constant motion. This picture of me was taken before the bees got the message that it was time to return to the hive. We were walking along the fields and soaking up the perfumed air --a little after 7pm-- and then, as if a bell rang, all of the bees began to leave the fields, and all going in the same direction, made off for their hives. Well, all but one who decided to get tangled in my hair (and this happened before I realized that they were all flying!). I heard him and tried shaking him out and he held on! I then realized that the entire road was full of honey bees --and I did panic! Poor David ran over and could hear him buzzing, but could not see him in my hair --finally he freed himself and joined the cloud.....we did not get stung, nor kill the bee....but what an experience! I now understand "bee-line"!
Next stop --the Gorges du Verdon!

Libre......

Ingrid Betancourt was freed along with 3 Americans in Columbia yesterday. Betancourt was held hostage for 2321 days after being kidnapped while running for president in Columbia; she is a French citizen and honorary citizen of Paris. This photo with the days in captivity has been in front of the Hotel de Ville (City Hall),
and others are in prominent places in the city like the gates to the Jardin du Luxembourg. (Do we even know the names of the Americans who were hostages?)
Today, the Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoe, held a press conference to celebrate her freedom, and stated that, "she is free, we can all be free." I went and listened.



Tomorrow is the 4th of July, Independence Day. But it is not Liberty Day, although we proclaim liberty in the Declaration of Independence as an inalienable right. We Americans cherish our individual independence which we often confuse with liberty. Bertrand Delanoe is correct: we can only be free when we are all free. And that inalienable right to liberty is God given to all.

And it pre-dates the State of New Hampshire's license plate....

The following is an Op-Ed piece that appeared in the New York Times today (I hope I have not broken any copy right laws by re-printing, but it has information that we as Americans should know....)

A Gift From France, to France

By EDWARD BERENSON
Published: July 3, 2008
ON a recent visit to the Statue of Liberty, my first since the sixth grade, I was struck by how many French people were at the site. Why more French than others from abroad? The answer may lie in the statue’s history. After all, it was conceived nearly 150 years ago almost as much for France as for the United States.

The idea for the monument stemmed from a French struggle for freedom that began in 1852, when Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, having overthrown France’s democratic republic, declared himself emperor. In the summer of 1865, after enduring 13 years of Napoleon III’s near-dictatorial rule, Édouard de Laboulaye, a historian, hosted a dinner for a small group of French liberals to celebrate the North’s victory in the American Civil War. To Laboulaye, the restoration of orderly liberty in the United States put his own government to shame.

Over brandy and cigars, he and his guests, who included Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, the prominent sculptor, decided to organize a public campaign to commemorate American liberty with a grand gift to the United States. But the gift would double as an implicit critique of Napoleon III.

Bartholdi later envisioned a mammoth statue of the kind of ancient Roman goddess that since 1789 had symbolized liberty and the Republic. The French revolutionary tradition actually produced two goddesses: one sported the “liberty cap” and appeared in ardent motion, her breasts often bared, a fierce expression on her face. Her counterpart stood erect and still, her body modestly draped, her expression calm and serene.

Bartholdi chose the second, unthreatening icon to have his “Liberty Enlightening the World” depict the stability that French liberals saw in the United States and wanted for their own turbulent land.

By the time construction began in the mid-1870s, Napoleon III had been removed from power and his opponents had created a moderate republican regime. France had escaped the twin perils of revolution and reaction that had characterized its political life for nearly a century. Now, Bartholdi’s statue could stand for both the French and the American republics.

The statue took shape over the next 10 years in a huge workshop near the western edge of Paris. Gustave Eiffel, Bartholdi’s chief engineer, created its iron skeleton, allowing him to test certain techniques he would use for his great tower in 1889. Fully assembled, the 151-foot “Liberty” loomed high over the Paris rooftops. When it was dismantled for shipment, in 1885, Parisians would miss it. Several smaller versions were built, and two of them still stand in Paris.

Americans would come to regard the statue as a beacon for immigrants. The French have always related it to their complex struggle for liberty. On my visit, I passed a young French woman posing for a snapshot, her right arm raised as if she had become, for a moment, the goddess herself.

Edward Berenson, the director of the Institute of French Studies at New York University, is writing a book about the Statue of Liberty.

The Statue of Liberty in sculptor Bartholdi's atelier, rue de Chazelles (in the 17th just beyond Parc Monceau and NE of the Arc de Triomphe) in 1885.

As is self evident, I am a liberal Democrat, and every 4th of July I read the Declaration of Independence as the Boston Globe prints it on the Op-Ed page. It should be on the front page. I read it to remind myself how important freedom and liberty are --for all of us, including immigrants, and to remind myself that we can be better than we what we have become-- and that is being patriotic.
By the way, as French as the French are, there are no lapel pins.