Water Lilies
The artist
Claude Monet, a French painter who spent his later years painting his own beautiful garden.
What you see
A calm pond covered with floating water lilies, with soft reflections of the sky and plants on the surface.
The story
Monet painted around 250 water lily pictures, mostly between 1897 and 1926, from the pond in his garden at Giverny.
The style
He used dabs and swirls of color so the water, flowers, and reflections all blend into a peaceful dream.
Look closer
Notice there is no sky or horizon; you look straight down at the water, as if floating above the pond.
Where to see it
Large water lily paintings are shown in special oval rooms at the Orangerie Museum in Paris.
Fun fact
Monet built a pretty green Japanese bridge over his pond, and it appears in many of his garden paintings.