This series of 30 photos was taken during two days in June 2010 in the magical water garden that was designed, loved, and painted on many canvases by Claude Monet in Giverny, where he lived from 1883 until his death in 1926.



It is only by visiting his house, his "atelier", his garden, and the fascinating little paradise called "le jardin d'eau", full of colours, light, shadows, water lilies, reflected trees and clouds and blue sky ~ an oasis of beauty and a refuge for those who seek to see with eyes, mind, and heart ~ that one can fully understand why Monet and all other Impressionists around him, could not do anything else than paint the way they painted.



In a time and in a world where so many seem to be unconscious of their own blindness, I would like to thank Claude Monet, Camille Doncieux, Alice Hoschedé, their children, and all those who believed in his work against all odds, for having opened my eyes.



I hope that this visual poetry book will be seen as a modest tribute to the immense heritage in beauty, vision, and love, that was left to us by the Impressionists.



~ Patrick De Smet, April 15th, 2011