Claude Monet was in many ways fascinated by Japanese culture. Many woodcuts and decorations at his house in Giverny attest to this, not least the bridge he had built in his garden. Monet included the bridge in many paintings that not only focused on the bridge itself but also on the pond it spanned, the water lilies in the pond and the banks surrounding the bridge.
In recognition of Monet's respect for the Japanese, and as a tribute to this western artist which in favored by many Japanese, a copy of Monet's garden with its Japanese included can today also be found in Kitigawa in Japan.
Monet exhibited forty-eight of these "landscapes of water" in 1909. Fascinated by the artist's subtle fusion of reality and reflection, critics compared the paintings to poetry and music.
One painting in the series, Le Bassin Aux Nympheas, was sold by Christies in London for more than 80 million US dollars.
This painting is currently on display at the National Gallery in London, England.
This product was added to our catalog on Sunday 27 December, 2009.
