Claude Monet is one of most influential French painters and a founder of the Impressionist movement. When he purchased a house and land in Giverny, France, during the 1890s, he soon set about creating gardens on his property, including a water garden inspired by the Japanese art that influenced so much of his work. These gardens would become a focal point for his art for the rest of his life. He made more than 250 paintings of them, including hundreds of paintings of the water garden that make up his famous Water Lilies series. In Giverny—A Colorful Silence: Four Seasons in the Gardens of Monet, Monet’s gardens are the subject of photographers Janet Russek and David Scheinbaum, who first visited the gardens in 2015. That experience inspired them to delve more deeply into Monet’s life and work and to seek special permission from the Monet Foundation to visit and photograph the gardens in Giverny. They proceeded to make four more trips over three years to photograph the gardens in each of the four seasons, and the stunning photographs they made reveal the changing beauty, light, and color palettes of the gardens throughout the year. In their own way, Russek and Scheinbaum captured unforgettable views and perspectives that even those fortunate enough to visit the gardens in person may not see. Their photographs embrace the spirit of Monet’s magical gardens while also honoring their history and Monet’s legacy and vision. Russek and Scheinbaum’s color photographs are accompanied by heartfelt and informative essays (presented in both English and French) by Jean-Marie Avisard, the current Head Gardener at Monet’s gardens, Jan Huntley, Head of the Artist and Volunteer Program at the Versailles Foundation Inc.’s Foundation Claude Monet à Giverny, and Paul Hayes Tucker, an esteemed art historian and expert on Monet’s life and works. Giverny—A Colorful Silence is a gift for all who revere Monet and his gardens. As the world celebrates the 100th anniversary of Monet’s passing on December 5, 2026, readers will treasure this book in unforgettable ways.
