Monet's Water Lilies

impressionism · gardens · art history · nature

Massive artistic obsession. Monet created around 250 paintings of water lilies over 31 years, making this his life's main project. He was so devoted to capturing his garden that it became almost his entire world.

His garden inspiration. All these paintings came from Monet's own flower garden at his home in Giverny, France. He built a special pond and filled it with water lilies, then painted them over and over from different angles and in different lights.

Painted through illness. As Monet got older, he developed cataracts that made his vision blurry and colors look different. He kept painting anyway, and some of his later works show how his eyes changed what he could see.

Water and reflections. Monet loved painting how the water reflected the sky, flowers, and clouds above. The way light danced on the water's surface became just as important to him as the lilies themselves.