A newly revealed painting at the Vernon museum
She had put down her brushes for more than ten years. Too many losses, too much silence. But in 1926, at the age of sixty, Blanche Hoschedé-Monet picked them up again. A year later, she painted The Rose Walk, Claude Monet’s Garden at Giverny, a delicate canvas filled with light and memory. This rare masterpiece is now on view at the Blanche Hoschedé-Monet Museum in Vernon, thanks to an exceptional loan from the Musée des Augustins in Toulouse.
A woman in Monet’s shadow… who became the living memory of Giverny
Blanche was not only Monet’s stepdaughter. She was his closest pupil, his artistic confidante, and more importantly: the only one to carry on his legacy after his death. Long overlooked, her work deserves to be seen, contemplated, and felt.
In The Rose Walk, she does not seek innovation. She seeks preservation. She paints to keep the garden alive. To ensure the house remains inhabited. To let Claude Monet’s memory — her father-in-law, her master, her world — continue to breathe through every flower, every arch, every glimmer of light.
A painting of memory and consolation
Painted after 1926, the work captures the garden in its real state: the trees cut down, the rose arches overgrown, the lush flowerbeds invading the central path. Nothing is fixed; it is life continuing despite absence.
The canvas conveys tenderness and resilience. A painting of grief and survival, where colors become a way to stand tall. As Georges Clemenceau movingly wrote to Blanche in 1927:
“Hold firmly to your brushes. They have, and will always have, the power to make you forget the void.”
Blanche Hoschedé-Monet Museum: A place of memory and heritage
In Vernon, just a stone’s throw from Giverny, the museum that bears her name is today the guardian of this feminine memory. The second museum in France to be dedicated to a female artist, it highlights both Impressionist works and contemporary women creators.
This 1927 canvas enriches a unique collection, celebrating not just art, but also the legacy of a courageous woman who chose to live through painting.
📅 Don’t miss the Journées du Matrimoine
On September 20 and 21, 2025, the museum will host free guided tours focusing on Blanche and other women artists on display. A perfect opportunity to discover the painting in its context, understand Blanche’s vision, and explore the gardens that still live on through her brushstrokes.
💬 Why visit this painting?
- To feel the emotion of a place painted with love and fidelity.
- To discover the moving, little-known work of a female Impressionist.
- To visit one of Normandy’s finest museums, just minutes from Giverny.
- To celebrate women’s contributions to art history.
📍 Practical information
Blanche Hoschedé-Monet Museum
12 rue du Pont – 27200 Vernon, France
📧 musee@vernon27.fr | 📞 +33 (0)2 32 64 79 05
🌐 vernon27.fr
🕒 Open daily except Mondays