Flood at Giverny 1897

Claude Monet painted 'Flood at Giverny' using oil on canvas, capturing a moment of environmental disruption in his own backyard. Monet, deeply rooted in the French landscape, had established his famous gardens at Giverny, a place of personal and artistic refuge. In this work the Impressionist master grapples with the emotional and physical impact of natural disaster. The muted palette and dissolving forms convey a sense of loss and vulnerability, as the familiar landscape is submerged. It also encapsulates a moment in time when climate change and the relationship between humanity and nature started to change. Monet wasn’t just painting a flood, he was exploring the fragility of beauty, and perhaps even foreshadowing a future where such events become more commonplace. The canvas invites us to reflect on our own connection to the environment and the emotional weight of a world in flux.