Transported to Verdant Hideaways
To accompany the exhibition Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse, the film looks behind the scenes at the gardens that inspired the art
Art and the naturel world have long been bedfellows and many painters and watercolourists have been inspired by the solitude, fauna and ever changing seasonal chorus of theirs – and friends’ gardens. Accompanying the major RA exhibition Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse, the film is a tour through the lush modern day surviving gardens.
Gardens including Monet’s at Giverny and Bonnard’s at Vernonnet are covered as well as other major private gardens in France and Germany. The film also interviews many of the professional gardeners and horticulturalists that are responsible for their upkeep, giving the audience greater understanding on the sheer hard work and planning that goes into creating these verdant arcadia. The film quality is excellent though I did notice some repetitive tracking shots; the film has a tendency to track down pathways.
That minor point aside, as an accompaniment to the exhibition this film does beautifully show the critical importance of the garden to late 19th and early 20th Century European painting. 
Details: Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse, released April 12th 2016 nationwide / www.exhibitiononscreen.com/en-uk/our-films/season-3/painting-modern-garden
www.odeon.co.uk/films/monet_to_matisse_painting_the_modern_garden/16367/
All photos ©EXHIBITION ON SCREEN