Book review: The Greenfingers of Monsieur Monet

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Published on Tuesday, 22 September 2015 13:04

Last Updated on 21 September 2015

Monica Costa

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The first ever children’s book just published by the Royal Academy of Arts, The Green Fingers of Monsieur Monet by Italian authors Giancarlo Ascari and Pia Valentinis is a wonderful book with an old fashioned feel.

An enchanting book that introduces children to this most beloved of Impressionists and his amazing garden.

It tells the real story of painter gardener Monet who is not just known as one of the founders of the Impressionism movement but also as creator of the most beautiful garden ever in Giverny.

As a big fan of Monet and art in general I have always tried to instill the same passion for painting to my son and this book just makes it so much easier.

The French painter Claude Monet (1840–1926) created a beautiful garden in Giverny, filling it with irises, poppies, sweet peas, and, of course, water lilies, which he celebrated in his vast and glorious paintings.

This new view of Monet and his garden will delight children and gently teach them about his art. With vibrant illustrations, The Green Fingers of Monsieur Monet tells how the artist arrived at his garden; about the bright Japanese prints he collected that inspired him; about the seeds he ordered (many from England); how he painted outdoors on vast canvases, in any weather; about his gardeners, who had to leave Giverny to go to war and about the creation of his late masterpiece – the famous Water Lilly series of paintings which was unveiled at the Musée de l’ Orangerie, Paris.

In this book, the garden is explained and built up in original illustrations which take Monet’s work as their starting point and re-imagine it in stunning and inventive ways.

The Green Fingers of Monsieur Monet is a perfect first-facts book about Monet, telling the story of the artist and his work through the famous garden that so inspired him.