Double-Flower Door

Double-Flower Door is one of a series of decorative panels that Monet created for the grand salon of Paul Durand-Ruel’s apartment. Durand-Ruel, the legendary art dealer who was among the earliest champions of Impressionism, modernised the art market through exhibitions independent of the official Salon system and through his international gallery network. With the financial support of this partnership, Monet moved to Giverny in 1883, and he has since then been dedicated to painting and gardening, which led to the creative pinnacle epitomised by the Les Nymphéas series. Painted in this year of transition, Double-Flower Door represents Monet’s first decorative work conceived for a specific space. With subtle modulations of light, shadow and colour, it captures the fleeting vitality of two plants taken from the garden at Giverny, transcending the ornamental and allegorical conventions of decorative art. Its elongated format also defied conventional composition, foreshadowing to some extent the monumental Les Nymphéas series that he would later create for the Musée de l’Orangerie.