A Long Drive to Monét

Leaving Perigord

We locked up the Perigord gite early in the morning and waved goodbye to an area that had surprised us with a whole other side of France. Gabrielle Chanel was born and raised in the department neighbouring the Dordogné; it was in her biography that I read of the push after WWI to establish Parisian French as the national language. Chanel's birth tongue was banned from her home department of Correze, as were other department dialects. School attendance was made compulsory and every child was taught French. Years before, Chanel had moved to Moulins and perhaps learnt the Parisian French from the military men that frequented the club she performed at to supplement her seamstress income.  Moulins is in Allier, land of the Bourbons, it is only two departments north of Perigord but as we drove further north on the A20, the differences in land use, building stone and landscape were almost as immediate as crossing the department border. The Dordogné does seem very isolated and quite different from our normal images of France.

A Biography from Sis

Map of French Departments from
http://www.map-france.com/departments/

When the A20 was clear. I've decided not to put Granny's photos of the crash site in.

Renior's portrait of Monet  1872 - print in house
Original in Musée Marmottan, Paris, France

There was a nervous energy in the VW. Willow had arranged the purchase of tickets to Monet's garden in Giverny, one use entry any day. http://giverny.org/gardens/fcm/visitgb.htm  Giverny is a little village just across the Seine from Verdon which is 45min by train from Paris. The last entry time was 5:30pm, at least it wasn't a Tuesday when it is closed.  Would we be able to rattle up the 470km+ in time? Less than an hour onto the motorway the traffic ground to a crawl, then a stop.  We had 2.5hrs to spare according to the GPS so I tried to 'Keep calm and Carry on,' as is popularly asserted in England. Eventually the traffic began to crawl again, Michael thankful that the VW was an automatic and eventually we passed the crash site where a truck had gotten itself wrapped up in the armco barrier and a couple of flat vans. Our empathy for the drivers was soon swamped in the exhilaration of being in 6th gear charging down the motorway.

Hay bale in the Dordogné

As we zoomed along, the hay bales on the side of the road reminded me of Monet's haystack series, I think I like them more than his waterlilies. It is hard to imagine his yearning to paint outdoors to be considered strange and improper. Development in technology - the camera and tubes of premixed paints, allowed his generation to break from the traditional role of artists. For the haystacks he had 8 canvases that he took to the field each season for several days. He started early and painted until the light shifted then worked on the next throughout the day.  The next fine day he took out those time labelled canvases and began from where he had left off before, swapping from canvas to canvas as the light shifted. I don't know how many days he went out each season but his first exhibition of stack paintings showed 15 finished works. This prompted a couple of well known writers of the time to wax lyrical.
 'For Gustave Geffroy, they represented "the poetry of the universe in the small space of a field.., a synthetic summary of the meteors and the elements." And, for Desire Louis, the viewer was "in the presence of sensations of place and of time in the harmonious and melancholic flow of sunsets, ends of day, and gentle dawns." http://www.artic.edu/aic/resources/resource/380  '

Two places and seasons of Monet's straw and grain stacks.
images from: http://www.claude-monet.com/haystacks.jsp#prettyPhoto

We stopped for coffee at some very crowded services just past Orleans - no time to stop in to see this historic city. A few hours later we pulled into another service stop for diesel and lunch. After Granny tried to pay for the fuel a second time(there was a service point in the courtyard where the business had already been transacted) she found a tin with Perigord forest animals to keep bits and pieces in once the biscuits were eaten. After a brush with Paris and a fifth toll (antipodean credit cards don't work so make sure you have cash!) we were off the motorway systems and managed to find a park within spitting distance of the still open Monet Trust. Yay!

Monet's House - inside the gardens.

Great natural structure 

Monet loved his chooks

The queue was very long so we were very glad to be able to dodge it with our prepaid tickets. I showed the entry guy the email on the screen of my phone, he sent us down to the group booking section but when we got there they had just closed and refused to give us access because it was 4:06pm. We trudged back up to the front door and the lovely man apologised for not realising how late it was. He had to write down the long numbers of each of our e tickets - It would have been easy to have done this for him before as he was having to deal with all sorts of languages and ages as interpreter for the ticket booth lady at the same time. The euphoria of finally entering this iconic garden and immediately recognising the rose arbour scene and Monet's pink house after carrying the pessimistic tension of something happening to prevent it was a strange physical sense. Luckily the conveniences were close to the entrance.

c1860 Caricature of Jules Didier
Claude Monet was called Oscar by his family
http://poulwebb.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/cluade-monet-caricatures.html

This property is the result of Monet's determination to paint for profit as well as natural investigation and beauty. As a young boy he struggled to see the point of doing things just because he was meant to and had a terrible time at school. His first profit from art was from selling cartoons in the window of the local art store. The drawings were of local residents in the port town of Le Havre and he made more money through this than Boudin, the full time artist that Monet credits with being his first inspirational teacher, did at the time.

After Monet's mother died, his aunty supported his desire to become an artist rather than following his father into her husband's business. She paid for him to go to art classes in Paris where he eventually meet his muse, Camille Doncieux.  Pissarro, Renior, Sisley and Bazille all became good friends and joined Monet with his outdoor painting. His first work exhibited at the Salon was derided by many, with someone voicing a witty comment: "the landscape gave an impression of what he imagined it really looked like". Surprisingly Monet liked this description as he and his friends saw no point in mimicking reality but were trying to find the light and colour more intensely by hiding the subject a little. The idea stuck and the Impressionist movement was named.

Eduoard Manet helped Monet and Camille into a property across the Seine from him in Argenteuil - I'm not sure if this area would have been considered Paris in his day. He often painted water scenes from boats and made himself the floating studio seen here in Manet's portrait (Right - Eduoard Manet 1874)
Renior captured his 'outdoor painting' by his Argenteuil garden (Left: Auguste Renoir 1873)
Images from http://www.monetpainting.net/monet_by_others.php

The Thames below Westminster - C.M. 1871
Image from : http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk

Although Monet had a lot of early success he struggled to make any money and was supported by patrons. He refused to marry Camille until he could support her financially. They lived together in Parisian poverty, Monet's dad was disgusted and refused to help them. Monet dutifully attended his military service but was discharged from Algiers with health problems. When the Franco Prussian war began Monet and Camille took off to London. Here Monet met the man who would be his dealer(art not drugs!) for the rest of his career. He also painted some lovely blue Thames pieces that make you feel as if the cool fog of London is settling on your face.

On his return to Paris he started making a steady if humble income. The friends they had moved in with went broke and Monet found himself trying to support both families. Camille became ill during her second pregnancy. After the birth, a fearful winter and lack of decent food saw her demise. Monet wouldn't let her be moved from the bed she died in until he had painted her one last time. The difference between her young healthy self as 'Woman in Green' and the death portrait demonstrate both the maturity of Monet's style and the effect of poverty on a young woman.

Left : Woman in green 1866   (https://www.myartprints.com)
Right :  Camille on her deathbed 1879

Alice - 1878 Carolus-Duran

Monet hated poverty and worked hard to lift his family and friends out of the abyss. Eventually he started making money. Ernest Hoschede died but his wife Alice decided to remain with Monet and raise their two separate families together at the Giverny property Monet bought. They eventually married. Still to come was the creation of the pond and fashioning of the bridge that reflected the popularity of Japanese prints among his friends. The rest I guess is history, countless biscuit tins and mint packs with 'The Waterlilies' motivating unnecessary purchases. I clearly remember being picked up from Longburn College by Mum and Aunty V for a weekend visit to the Monet exhibit tour in Auckland. The impact of seeing the real thing after admiration of printed copies in books has given me a love for art galleries that I fear Willow and Petal don't yet appreciate.

The girls think gardens are more happy making than galleries - Granny was lost on her own contemplative journey

Here at last

I can still feel the excitement as we walked down the rows of flowers looked after by the trustees of Monét's Giverny property to the same parameters. He planted recklessly, not heeding the super organised, controlled fashions of the time. Friends and strangers gave him new and strange plants that he moved about until they found a place to call home. His drive to understand colour harmonies motivated crazy planting patterns but were always guided by his instinct for balanced structure - the height of plants, garden furniture and trees all created a dizzying effect so that as we walked around, every blink seemed to bring into view another perfect frame of colour and light. Not surprisingly our many clicks on our cameras have produced nothing as stunning as Monet's eye through his brush. What a privilege it was to walk those paths.

Left: Water lilies 1905, original in Museum of Fine Arts Boston    Right: Our photo of the motivation
On completion of the water garden, Monet apparently said - 'I'll probably be painting this for the rest of my life.'

Left: The renewed arbour          Right: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/a-pathway-in-monets-garden-giverny-claude-monet.html

Nymphéas

Inside Monet's pink and green house his kitchen bright blue and yellow dinning rooms have been recreated. His collection of Japanese art lines the hallways.  Prints of some of his paintings appear on the crowded walls. The kitchen table is long and designed for casual long lunches with the many friends and admirers that used to visit. At one stage there were so many U.S. students camping and boarding in the village that the local cafe started selling Cola and American food. Monet's fame and encouragement of young talent inspired many. He also had a foul temper and was know to rip and burn canvases that did not go according to his vision.  Some of these fragments were rescued by Alice and the kids and are now worth a lot of money. Monet’s 1906 “Nymphéas” was sold at auction in Sotheby's for £31 700 000 in June this year.

Too good not to touch

Finally found Granny staring at the sky in the pond - how did he capture that?

Competing with the Lilies

Colourful combinations

No wonder Monet painted the same subject so many times - how can one snap capture it all?

Through the garden back to the house

Happy paths

A little more respect thank you

Camera wars: Guess who think they got the best shots! 

Exit Image

The attendants started calling closing time just before 6pm so we looked through the extensive gift shop and left making a big tick against that list of places to see before our time is up.

Leaving relaxed and renewed

How to get to the Garden:
Giverny is a tiny place across Le Seine from Verdon. From Paris book one of the many day tours or catch a train on the Rouen line from the Metro exit at Grandes Lignes. The Vernon station is about 5km away so take a taxi or the shuttle. If driving, punch the address (84 rue Claude Monet 27620 Giverny) into your SatNav. 

Medieval Fortresses in France's 100yr war.

I have called this France's 100yr war but even though it happened in what is now France, the land north west of the Perigord was claimed by the English crown. The name - 100yrs war is one of convenience and hindsight. Officially it began in 1337 and ended in 1453. (A very brief summary at the end)

Left:  Beynac                                                                                  Right:  Castelnaud

Beynac viewed from a Castelnaud window

Several Chateaus in the Perigord region were pivotal in the English /French conflicts. We visited two, Beynac and Castelnaud.

These two have an interesting relationship which made me push to have them visited on the same day. They sit on opposite sides of the Dordogné. Although they never attacked each other outright, their strongholds were too impressive for that, they were constantly spying on each other. The damage to the area was so great that the Pope even got involved. He forced a marriage between the families to stop the feuding. While standing on the battlements of Castelnaud looking down the river towards Beynac we dallied with a little time travel and imagined the effect that a bazooka or an Apache chopper would have had in the Medieval world.

Left:  Looking down the Dordogné towards Castelnaud lost in the fog.  Right: The river winding west.

The car park was full so we had a petite
stroll from a field to Castelnaud

The Castelnaud family of Caumont controlled the castle until the revolution and were mostly in sympathy with the English during the 100yr War.  A couple of self seeking captains played a dangerous game of treachery which saw the castle go to the highest bidder over several years.

Shops and restaurants surround the base - crépe for lunch?

Canon and arrow slits - not big enough for escape!

Castelnaud had copious displays of weapons

 Castelnaud was bought by Kléber Rossillon in 1966. He put a highly qualified team to work on its restoration. by 1985 enough was rebuilt for it to be opened to the public. Now all has been completed and a huge collection of Medieval weapons are displayed. At the base of the castle are many stores and eating places. The Castle may not be needed as a fortress to protect the area anymore but it is still providing for them with employment opportunities and a growing population.

More weapons at Castelnaud. The centre picture shows an attack on one of the river castles.  Poor horses.

Down the river was another stronghold for tourists to visit, we arrived early in the morning so fewer of them

Stair Stonework at Beynac

Defence strategies at Beynac - they also had a walled moat either side of the gatehouse(left) to the cliff.

Building on the edge of a cliff detered attack.      Left: View from the Beynac Battlements :Right
The village wasn't built until late in the Renaissance - no protection from river raids when at war. 

The fortress of Beynac was another long term family seat.  The Lords and Barons of Beynac owned it for 800 yrs with a few periods of theft. Richard the Lionheart held it for ten years, it was won back weeks after his death. This area of France was a strong supporter of the Cathar sect. It began as a negative reaction to the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church. Their aim was to attain perfection, as the believers spread their beliefs by word of mouth, different versions of the faith could be found, this was complicated further by the fact that there were a large variety of languages in the area.

Inside Beynac - Left: the ladies dining room with one of the Unicorn tapestries Right: Part of the Beynac Baron's suite

Beynac was the central seat of the region. The Barons from Biron, Bourdeilles and Mareuil would meet in this Great Hall to discuss petitions and advice they wished to present to the King as part of their role in the 'Estates General'(much like the English Parliament but without he right of approval of policy. The banner to the left is Beynacs and to the right Castlenaud's, the rampant lion may reflect the long English influence of this fortress.

Once an emissary, sent by the Pope, was killed for trying to reason with a group of Cathars, a crusade to cleanse the kingdom of them was called. They believed that all physical manifestations were evil - that Satan had created the world to distract humanity from the spiritual life. They believed that upon death they would reincarnate to attempt perfection again or if they'd reached that state they would forever reside, as spirit, with the universe in perfect harmony. Hence they did not fear death and were ferocious fighters. I'm very glad that the next attempt at cleansing church would be based on Biblical writings rather than hearsay. Simon de Montfort was the Church's strong arm.  The family of Beynac were besieged as named Cathar supporters but the Castle history insists that Montfort just wanted the territory back for his liege Lord - the Count of Toulouse.

Left: A heavily armoured door into the kitchen courtyard from the stable courtyard.
Right:Front door and drawbridge from the kitchen courtyard was the only entrance into the castle during the 100yrs war.

Left: Bench and table for the door guards - swords ever at the ready
Right: Stone ramp leading from the central household courtyard through the kitchen to the front door.  The Baron and his knights rode their horses up this ramp into the house. The cooking facilities are mainly chopping blocks, meat hooks and giant cauldron fires. French cuisine may have been a little simpler in those times.

 Another Chateau we visited was Biron. It was a later building and not as heavily involved in the wars as the other two because it is further south. Even so a common saying in France 'Con comme Biron' meaning duped like Biron, refers to one of the Duke's loyalty to his English King - Henry, who did not come and save him from execution when caught by the French King and tried for treason. This castle was left to the state by the last owners after erosion and neglect had left it in a sorry state.  The French Ministry of Culture supplied funding for repairs that are well under way.

Looking up to and down from Chateau Biron

Biron had the most spectacular Chapel artwork.
There was a little group of holiday kids creating their own heraldic shields at the back when we visited.

The Ministry of Culture funds went towards recreating this floor. Visitors have to swish around eh room on these special cloths to protect the parquetry. In another tower we saw how the unrenovated timber had fared - same pattern but rotting away and riddled with wood worm.

Entrance to the art/craft fair

The site has a lovely café, produce store where we bought some delicious honey and found freshly picked saffron for sale. One of the lower rooms was open for a local art and craft fair where Granny and I bought ceramic local leaf dishes as a memory of the area. The castle Biron doesn't have any English guides but there are a few signs around that explain the historical use of the different wings. The layout of this place certainly provides a more pleasant place to live than the other medieval sites we visited. The renovated ballroom is available to hire for weddings and dances and while we were there a band was setting up for a concert in the outer courtyard.

As we wandered through these old places with the buzz of commerce and audio guides instead of the clanking of steel and the whisper of long dresses - it was easy to imagine the people that were needed to keep them functioning. For each knight a castle was able to provide to their Liege, 100 servants from the fields to the kitchens, from stables to the armory spent their lives in harsh conditions. Those with faith had warm hearts at least. For those without, cruelty was their daily reality; not so different from today in many parts of the world I guess.

Biron inner court with a beautiful patio overlooking the valley north. Ballroom to the left, new floor room above the arch, the door to the right gives access to a large tower with big rooms.

This huge kitchen space had many specialist rooms and pantries leading off it.
It looks like the Biron Barons really knew how to party. To bad they lost their heads.

 Skip this synopsis of the 100yrs war if History bores you to tears: 
I find the people who litter these years fascinating. In fact if you are a fan of Blackadder, look up Louis XI whose nick names were 'the cunning' and 'the universal spider' - definitely a French ancestor I think.

In 1154 Henry II's ownership of the great western Duchys, Normandy, Brittany and Aquitane made the him far more powerful than the Capetian dynasty that claimed the throne of France. Henry's disputs with his sons, Richard the Lionheart and John Lackland weakened this power and gave crafty Phillip II a chance to retake what he considered were French territories. Richard defended his claims to these Duchy's in person, perhaps fighting to protect his mother's(Eleanor of Aquitaine) and wife's(Anne of Navarre) inheritance. He faced life threatening battles on crusade and against French troops but his life was ended by a young boy's arrow of vengence for killing his father and brother in battle while clowning around without his chain mail on his own ramparts at Chalus. His doctor screwed up when removing the arrow and the wound turned gangrenous. In the vaccum of power left after Richard's death, Phillip VI won back the Guyenne (French possessions of the King of England).

In 1337 Edward III retailiated by claiming the throne of France and sending troops to recapture Normandy, Brittany and Aquitaine. The fighting waged through famine, plague, treaties made when one side need to regroup then broken at the sniff of any advantage and changes of rule.

In 1422, Henry VI was the acknowledged King of both countries until Joan of Arc lead troops to a victory at the Orleans' siege then had Charles VII anointed King of France in Rheims. The English finally withdrew their troops after a sour grapes collusion with a monstrous of act of French duplicity and misogyny - the delivery of the Maid of Orleans, she was later sainted for her heroic motivation of French nationalism. Her success was an embarrassment to the new King, whose own endurance, troops and strategies had continually failed. That a woman should have visions and military success must surely lie at the feet of the devil, so the English burnt her at the stake for witch craft.

Eventually France's first standing army turned the tide and won a succession of major battles in the early 1450s. The English monarch(s) were distracted and impoverished by the War of the Roses so the English vacated France completely, leaving allies holding Burgundy and Brittany in 1456.
Edward IV bought the largest army to ever leave England back to France but he was unhappy with his ally's preparations so sold out to the Treaty of Picquigny in 1475. Ed IV and Louis XI agreed to a 7 year truce, an engagement between Elizabeth of York and the French dauphin(Charles VIII in time) and a yearly tribute (the French preferred to call it a bribe) of 50 000 gold crowns and an immediate sum of 75 000 gold crowns. The wedding never happened, Charles was betrothed to an Austrian princess who was living in the French court but he ditched her for the 14yr old Anne of Brittany who had married herself by proxy to Max II, the Hapsburg. That marriage was shunned by Charles as unbinding for with Anne came her Duchy.

England was left with only Calais still in hand until Henry VIII's embarrassment in the 1500s when the English lost all claim on the continent.