In the Gardens of Impressionism

by Clare A.P. Willsdon

Citing the relevance of Impressionist gardens as subjects of par excellence by master painters, a lavishly illustrated volume explores history's fascination with gardens, parks, and flowers in a context of modern horticultural trends and the changing political landscape in France, describing how gardens were central to the Impressionists' discovery of the outdoor style. 10,000 first printing.

Genres: Nonfiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published November 2, 2004

Reviews

[Ambrose Miles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having spent a lot of time with Impressionism and impressionists, I’d say Ms. Willsdon covered her subject throughly. There’s a lot more here than I could possibly take in at 100%, so give me 4 stars for something less than wonderful. (Not that this has anything to do with the book, but being something less than wonderful is a line from a Thomas “Fats” Waller song.)

[Juliano · Rating 4 out of 5]

“If my own introduction to the magic of making things grow was as a child, when my parents gave me a corner of their garden for my own, it is their perceptive insights which, in turn, have enriched my understanding of the ‘gardens of Impressionism’, […] While the book is dedicated to them, I hope it will enable many others also to share my joys of discovery in opening the gates and following the paths of the ‘gardens of Impressionism’.” Clare A. P. Willsdon’s art history monograph, In the Gardens of Impressionism, is a gorgeous look at a very specific aspect of a very specific art movement. With chapters on flowers, horticulture, private gardens, Parisian bouquet, sunshine and shadows and sanctuary, social gardens, working gardens, Monet, and the fruits of the gardens, Willsdon draws on a range of artists and their various contexts, personal, political, and literary, to explore what the garden meant then, and might mean now. “Gardens are traditionally reinventions of ‘primal’ forms of nature which serve as subliminal reminders of a world before mankind — an unsullied Eden or a lost paradise or Golden Age — and as such they already carry meanings and associations, even before their interpretation by Impressionist or other artists. As nature shaped and trained by human hand, gardens are themselves works of art, however rudimentary”. Jean-François Bony, Gustave Courbet, Simon Saint-Jean, Edgar Degas, Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, John Singer Sargent all feature (among others — Bazille, Pissarro, MacMonnies, Frieseke, Renoir, Guillaumin), their works and readings of them, all in concert with one another, as “Idea, image and invention all went hand in hand”.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

good but not great; enjoyed as I've visited most of the gardens and have seen many of the paintings, so lovely to revisit. but if not, there are better books on the paintings and the gardens.