PROGRAMME NOTES

Claude Monet was an avid horticulturist and arguably the most important painter

of gardens in the history of art but he was not alone. Great artists like Van Gogh,

Bonnard, Sorolla, Sargent, Pissarro and Matisse all saw the garden as a powerful

subject for their art. These great artists, along with many other famous names,

feature in an innovative and extensive film based on the exhibition at The Royal

Academy of Arts, London.

From the exhibition walls to the wonder and beauty of artists’ gardens like

Giverny and Seebüll, the film takes a magical and widely travelled journey to

discover how different contemporaries of Monet built and cultivated modern

gardens to explore expressive motifs, abstract colour, decorative design and

utopian ideas. Guided by passionate curators, artists and garden enthusiasts, this

remarkable collection of Impressionists, Post-Impressionists, and avant-garde

artists of the early twentieth century will reveal the rise of the modern garden in

popular culture and the public’s enduring fascination with gardens today. Long

considered spaces for expressing colour, light and atmosphere, the garden has

occupied the creative minds of some of the worlds greatest artists. As Monet said,

‘Apart from painting and gardening, I’m no good at anything’. For lovers of art or

lovers of gardens, should be a fascinating film.

Filmed and Directed by David Bickerstaff, Produced by Phil Grabsky, Music by Asa Bennett

KEY WORKS DISCUSSED:

For your chance to win a Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse exhibition catalogue, signed by curator,

Ann Dumas, simply answer the question below:

What was the theme of Monet’s ‘Grandes Decorations’?1) Waterlily Pond 2) Japanese Bridge 3) Weeping Willows

Send your answers to info@seventh-art.com by 30th May.The winner will be announced by the first week of June.

Please note: we will use your email address to contact you with information about future films and other Seventh Art news. We will not pass your information on to any third parties.

WIN!

MONET TO MATISSESMELL THE FLOWERS, REVEL IN THE COLOURS, ESCAPE TO ANOTHER WORLD.

BASED ON THE BLOCKBUSTER EXHIBITION FROM THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS.

• Claude Monet, Agapanthus Triptych 1915-26

• Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet Painting in His Garden at Argenteuil, 1873

• Joaquín Sorolla, Louis Comfort Tiffany, 1911

• Henri Matisse, Palm Leaf, Tangier, 1912

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, The Artist’s Garden in Argenteuil (A Corner of the Garden with Dahlias), 1873 © The National Gallery of Art, Wash-ington DC

PAINTING THE MODERN GARDEN

Joaquín Sorolla, Louis Comfort Tiffany, 1911 © The Hispanic Society of America, New York

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Missed previous seasons of EXHIBITION ON SCREEN? DVDs are now available at www.seventh-art.com.

FACTS & TRIVIA• Due to the rise of the middle class in the 19th century the purpose of the garden evolved

into one of gardening for pleasure opposed to gardening for vegetables.

• When Monet first applied for planning permission to make his famous water garden he came across much resistance. Farmers were wary of these new aquatic plants, worrying they would poison the water and kill the cattle.

• Many, at the time, considered horticulture to be as artistic as painting. “My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece” - Claude Monet

ALSO NEW FROM SEVENTH ART PRODUCTIONS

In Search of Chopin and Concerto – A Beethoven Journey

with Leif Ove Andsnes.

#EOSModernGarden

RECOMMENDED READING

The Wild Garden

by William Robinson

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EXHIBITION ON SCREEN is produced by award-winning documentary film-makers Seventh Art Productions and distributed by Arts Alliance

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet Painting in His Garden at Argenteuil, 1873 © Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT

Claude Monet, Nymphéas (Waterlilies), 1914-1915 © Portland Art Museum, Oregon