Impressionist Giverny

A Colony of Artists, 1885-1915

Bourguignon Katherine M.

Lured by the ineffable beauty represented in Claude Monet's artwork and the promise of painting en plein air, artists from America and across Europe flocked to the French village of Giverny in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, transforming it from a sleepy hamlet to a colorful and thriving artists' community".Impressionist Giverny: A Colony of Artists, 1885-1915" evokes the longevity of impressionism and highlights the role Giverny played in the movement's ascendance, placing Giverny in the context of other European artists' colonies of its era.

Making use of reproductions of period postcards, paintings, photographs, and previously unpublished documents, editor Katherine M. Bourguignon traces the evolution of the impressionist style in this idyllic and international setting. Fellow contributors address the interactions of the artists of Giverny with Monet, the utopian experiment of a collective artistic enterprise, the emergence of the rural innkeeper as a new class of patron, and the American impressionists who, inspired by their experience in France, often formed artists' colonies back in the United States and participated in the ongoing tradition of French-American cultural exchange.

Accompanying exhibitions at the Musee d'Art Americain Giverny and at the San Diego Museum of Art, "Impressionist Giverny: A Colony of Artists, 1885-1915" captures the creative spirit and aesthetic that enlivened this artistic haven a century ago.

Contents:

Giverny: A Village for Artists
Katherine M. Bourguignon

Breakfast at Monet's: Giverny in the Context of European Artists' Colonies
Nina Lubbren

Americans in Giverny: The Meaning of a Place
Kathleen Pyne

"A Long Entwined Effort": Colonizing Giverny
Margaret Werth

Catalogue
Introductions by Katherine M. Bourguignon
Landscapes around Giverny
Village Life
Family and Friends
The "Giverny Group"
Historical Documents
The Baudy Family Photograph Albums
The Photographs of Theodore Robinson
The Courrier Innocent: A Collaborative Project
Appendix
Map of Giverny, circa 1900
Artists in Giverny, 1885 to 1915
Selected Bibliography
Index

About the Author

Katherine M. Bourguignon is associate curator at the Musee d'Art Americain Giverny, where she is organizing the exhibition "Impressionist Giverny: A Colony of Artists, 1885-1915". She has conducted research into a variety of transatlantic ties among American and European artists and acted as curator for several exhibitions devoted to American art. She received a PhD in art history from the University of Pennsylvania in 1998 and currently lives in France.

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