Analysis of the Japanese bridge in the garden

of Giverney Claude Monet

By Mike Raave, 4VE

1. Description:
When I look at this painting, I see a lot of flowers and trees. It gives a
feeling like it is a sunny day in spring. The bridge gives a good sight how
the garden is formed: with a few ditches, a few paths to walk through
the garden and a lot of nature.
2. First impression:
My first impression is pretty clear for me, like I said in the first paragraph,
is this picture beautiful to have in your living room for example, because
it feels like a sunny day in spring when you look at it. The painting is not
very detailed, however you do not need to know what type of flowers or
trees they are, because you know it is a magnificent garden you are
looking at.
3. How the elements are used:
To see what elements are used and how, you need to look closer at the
picture. I recognised that the flowers are not that colourful, because the
colours are not different, while you see very much green in the painting.
I think the colour white for the bridge is well chosen, because it stands
out as a clear object in the painting.
4. Background information:
Written by 15rambukpotaa from
http://blogs.yis.ac.jp/15rambukpotaa/2013/09/08/ibdpva-iwb-art-analysis-claude-
monets-the-japanese-footbridge-c-1920-22-9813/

- Overall, I believe Claude Monet did a successful job on capturing the audiences
attention with the dramatic change in palette. His transformation from pale, soft,
pastel colours to fiery, intense, vivid colour choices really sets this piece apart from
the others.

(This review comes from a blog which is from 15rambukpotaa, his/her name is not
shown)
 Written by someone from the National Art Gallery from
http://eu.art.com/asp/search_do.asp/_/posters.htm?searchstring=japanse%20bridg
e&SSK=japanse%20bridge&WT.oss=japanse%20bridge
:

-Ten years after moving to Giverny in 1883, Claude Monet envisioned turning a small
pond on an adjacent parcel of land into an Asian-influenced water garden. Overcoming
the resistance of locals wary of introducing foreign plants into the region, Monet won
approval to expand the pond by diverting water from the Epte River. He encircled the
basin with a vivacious arrangement of flowers, trees, and bushes, and the next year filled
it with water lilies. He added a Japanese-style wooden bridge in 1895, then a few years
later started to paint the pond and its water liliesand never stopped, making them the
obsessive focus of his intensely searching work for the next quarter century.

(This information comes from the gallery which has the Japanese Bridge painting, so
people have found the history of this painting and posted it, but it says nowhere who has
written it.)

5. Conclusion:
I think this art piece shows how beautiful art can be by just a picture of
an ordinary thing, like the garden in this case. Monet has done well to
my opinion, by taking the combination of quietness and human activity
together. For example, the garden is just like spots in nature, however, it
is controlled and treated by humans.

Sources:
http://blogs.yis.ac.jp/15rambukpotaa/2013/09/08/ibdpva-iwb-art-analysis-claude-
monets-the-japanese-footbridge-c-1920-22-9813/

http://eu.art.com/asp/search_do.asp/_/posters.htm?searchstring=japanse%20bridge
&SSK=japanse%20bridge&WT.oss=japanse%20bridge

https://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/highlights/highlight74796.html