Giverny france

A French town, its name has become synonymous with Impressionism because its most famous resident was Claude Monet, one of the first Impressionists. Origins of the Giverny art colony date to 1887, when a small band of artists, including Americans Willard Metcalf, Louis Ritter, Theodore Wendel and John Leslie Breck "discovered" the village. Claude Monet, by then known to the American artists through both Parisian and American exhibitions, had settled there in 1883. He was receptive at first to having "disciples" learn from him, but soon tired of the invasion. The first group of artists painted primarily landscapes, and the second group focused on depicting family life, especially the female figure in the intimacy of the artist's own garden or private interior setting. World War I (1914) marked the end of an era for the art colony, but the place with its Monet gardens remains a tourist attraction. Sources: William Gerdts, "Monet's Giverny: An Impressionist Colony"; AskART biographies