To immerse themselves in Monet in Val-d’Oise, even Americans come to Argenteuil

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“Cited among the 30 most visited cultural sites in the Val-d’Oise department, the Impressionist House, since its renovation and opening to the public in September 2022, has welcomed more than 10,000 visitors from all over the world. In addition to the French public, more and more Japanese and Americans are visiting this Argenteuil heritage.”

It is with pride that the City of Argenteuil (Val-d’Oise) takes stock two years after the opening of the pink house with green shutters.

This cultural place is an opportunity for Argenteuil to give an image other than the one that sticks to it and to attract an audience coming from Paris (10 minutes from Saint-Lazare if the train is direct).

A positive assessment which adds to the regional award recently received by the City, the “Heritage Ribbons”, for the quality of the restoration of this house. Located at 21, Boulevard Karl-Marx, “this Swiss chalet-style vacation home was built in 1871 by a professional carpenter, Mr. Flamand, like all the houses on this part of the boulevard,” recalls the City.

He arrived in Argenteuil in 1871

The painter arrived in Argenteuil in 1871, on the advice of his painter friend Édouard Manet. After three years spent a little further down the boulevard, at the corner of rue Pierre-Guienne, in a house which no longer exists, he moved in with his family in 1874 with Mr. Flament, its owner. The street was naturally not yet called Karl-Marx. It will take this name because the daughter of the communist theorist also lived there. The author of Capital visited him several times.

For four years, Claude Monet took advantage of this setting between town and countryside, the proximity of the train station and the emerging industry to create masterpieces which are today in museums around the world.

A fruitful period! During these seven years, Monet painted 259 canvases, which can be found at the Tavet-Delacour museum in Pontoise, at the Orsay, Marmottan, London, Philadelphia, Washington, Tokyo museums… More than 150 relate to Argenteuil: bridges, walks, regattas, town, surrounding countryside (the famous poppies) and above all, the Seine. Monet bought a boat and transformed it into a workshop, on the advice of Gustave Caillebotte.

150 paintings relating to Argenteuil

After the departure of the Monet family in 1878, the successive owners arranged the house as they wished, the garden gradually losing its original surface area and the rooms losing their decorations.

In 2003, the City bought the house (150 m² on three levels). “When this house was put up for sale during my first mandate, we already had this project but financial difficulties did not allow us to do it,” explained the mayor (Lr) of Argenteuil, Georges Mothron. The City then began repairing the exteriors and the garden in 2010.

It was in 2018 that the City embarked on a project to promote and rehabilitate the old house to make it a space dedicated to culture and the impressionist heritage, left by Monet and his impressionist friends – Manet, Caillebotte, Renoir, Sisley, etc. – who visit him. The budget amounted to 1,730,000 euros thanks to aid from the Val-d’Oise Department, the Île-de-France Region, City (State) policy and patronage.

Due to Covid, the restoration of this house located opposite the bus station will take longer than expected. It will be inaugurated in September 2022.

“The project aimed to preserve the authenticity of the places and the initial arrangements, by integrating the restitution of lost emblematic elements, dear to the painter. The winter garden that we can see in Monet’s paintings (Camille at work, 1876) is a perfect example of architectural writing and the enhancement of the original qualities of the architecture of the house,” underlines the municipality.

Digital devices

Imagined with the agencies Lacaa and Abaque, the scenography, which is aimed at the greatest number of people, offers through digital devices to bring Claude Monet’s paintings to life. This House does not in fact have the name museum because there are no paintings by Claude Monet there.

The visitor is thus invited to open drawers, cupboards, shutters, like a large treasure hunt on the scale of the house.

“This furniture is not original. When the city bought the house, there was nothing left. Everything we see here has been found and repainted. It’s a bias. We do not want to mislead the visitor by letting them think that these pieces of furniture belonged to Monet,” explained Stéphanie Feze, head of the heritage and tourism unit at the City of Argenteuil, at the opening.

On the ground floor, after the reception area made up of a small shop, the route begins with the arrival of Claude Monet. The visit continues in the winter garden This new space offers a view of the garden. Visitors can enjoy a gourmet break.

The 1^is floor is devoted to the works of Monet: the streets of Argenteuil, the bridges, the station, the trains and the surrounding countryside: the boulevard de Pontoise, the rue de Paradis, the houses or even the local festival which inspired Monet, as well as landscapes, with a focus on the poppies and the station. On a small table, a “talking” mirror evokes “Camille (Editor’s note, Camille Doncieux, Monet’s wife) in the garden, with Jean and his maid.

On the second floor, the journey continues towards the Seine, with the reconstruction of the workshop boat. The painter loved the international regattas organized on the Seine by the Paris Sailing Circle and immortalized them. A touch screen offers fun animation for families who want to try impressionism digitally!

Direction Giverny

Finally, the garden, completely redeveloped, finds the floral essences of yesteryear, inspired by Monet’s paintings.

A short film concludes the visit. In 1878, Monet toured Argenteuil. He painted only four more paintings in the town that year. It will be time for him to find inspiration elsewhere, in Giverny.

21, boulevard Karl-Marx, Argenteuil. Open Wednesday 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. / 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. / 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. www.maisonimpressionniste.fr Full price €5. Reduced price €3.50: job seeker, over 65 years old, 12-26 years old, large family, disabled situation etc.

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