In the Gardens of Impressionism

A visual exploration of the Impressionists’ love affair with the new thinking about garden design that swept 19th-century France.

In the Gardens of Impressionism explores the Impressionists’ fascination with gardens, parks and flowers in the context of the contemporary craze for horticulture and the changing political and cultural landscape in France. It discusses the artists both as painters and as gardeners, and, using source material such as contemporary gardening manuals, offers exciting new interpretations of their art.

With its insights about familiar works by Manet, Renoir, Degas, Monet and Pissarro, thorough coverage of less familiar Impressionists such as Bazille, Caillebotte and Guillaumin, and spectacular illustrations, including period photographs, engravings from journals and cartoons, as well as paintings and drawings, this book will appeal equally to the scholar, student, art lover or gardening enthusiast.

Review

'A luscious landscape of a book' - Financial Times

'Pleases both the mind and eye with intelligent new analysis of a beloved Impressionist subject' - The Royal Academy Magazine

'There are lots of lovely pictures, but the text is serious and informative' - Sunday Times

'Takes the reader on an exhilarating stroll past light-dappled lily ponds and through Parisian parks' - The Times

About the Author

Clare A. P. Willsdon is Professor of the History of Western Art at the University of Glasgow and a specialist in 19th- and early-20th-century European art and culture. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Society of Arts, she was Academic Advisor and co-curator for the ‘Impressionist Gardens’ exhibitions at the National Gallery of Scotland and Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, and has contributed to other exhibitions in Britain and abroad.