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2000s: Can a garden and town of such beauty really hold such deadly secrets?
2000s: Can a garden and town of such beauty really hold such deadly secrets?
Famous artist Claude Monet is feted in the town of Giverny -for here are the gardens where he painted his famous Water Lilies. Tourists flock to the gardens in their droves hoping to see the magic on the canvas, but this time in real life. There is not just art in this village however, for there is a darker side to it too.
When a man is found dead in the stream that runs through the gardens, the darkness invades the famous picture – Jérôme Morval, a man whose passion for art was matched only by his passion for women is the victim. In his pocket is a postcard of Monet’s Water Lilies with the words: Eleven years old. Happy Birthday.
This mystery flows deeper still for three women: a young painting prodigy, the seductive village schoolteacher and an old widow who watches over the village from a mill by the stream seem to know more than they are letting on. But what is the connection to the mysterious, rumoured painting of Black Water Lilies?
The place to start any visit to Giverny and Normandy and the wonders of Monet
The beauty of the French village Giverny apparently struck Monet when he passed through on a train one day and so in 1883 he rented a house before buying it in 1890.
As wel as being a keen artist, he enjoyed planting the flowers for real in his gardens. He found this was just as much a part of his creation as his painting. The place he created was also the place he painted and was his little bit of peace in a busy world.
The Impressionism Museum is not to be missed.
The Water Lillies is infact a series of paintings by Monet. There are some 250 oil paintings in the series apparently!
Author/Guide: Michel Bussi Destination: Giverny Departure Time: 2000s
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