Food, Living

The Modern Mayfair Garden With Monet to Matisse

23rd March 2016

I really do love London! There is always something fun happening, new places, exhibitions to see. You can never really get bored of this city. I recently visited the Royal Academy of Art’s ‘Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse’ exhibition and then went on to enjoy a two course lunch at Le Caprice and a glass of Perrier-Jouët Champagne. It’s all part of the deal you see, so here is what you get…

The Exhibition

I am huge impressionist fan and adore Monet’s work amongst the talents of Van Gogh, Manet and many more. When I heard of this exhibition I was itching to go – I felt it was a calling. Using the work of Monet as a starting point, the exhibition examines the role gardens played in the evolution of art from the early 1860s through to the 1920s.

Painting the Modern Garden traces the emergence of the modern garden in its many forms and glories as you are taken through a period of great social change and innovation in the arts. You are immersed in a beautiful journey by discovering paintings of some of the most important Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and Avant-Garde artists of the early twentieth century as they explore this theme.

Monet, arguably the most important painter of gardens in the history of art, once said he owed his painting “to flowers”. But Monet was far from alone in his fascination with the horticultural world. Expect to see masterpieces by Renoir, Cezanne, Pissarro, Manet, Sargent, Kandinsky, Van Gogh, Matisse, Klimt and Klee. With over 120 paintings, you’ll leave feeling inspired and perhaps wanting to take on a new hobby such as gardening…

Claude Monet, Nymphéas (Waterlilies), 1914-15, Oil on canvas, 160.7 x 180.3 cm. Portland Art Museum, Oregon. Museum Purchase: Helen Thurston Ayer Fund, 59.16 Photo © Portland Art Museum, Portland, Orego. Claude Monet, Nymphéas (Waterlilies), 1914-15, Oil on canvas, 160.7 x 180.3 cm. Portland Art Museum, Oregon. Museum Purchase: Helen Thurston Ayer Fund, 59.16 Photo © Portland Art Museum, Portland, Orego. Joaquin Sorolla, Louis Comfort Tiffany, 1911, Oil on canvas, 150 x 225.5 cm. On loan from the Hispanic Society of America, New York, NY Photo © Courtesy of The Hispanic Society of America, New York. Joaquin Sorolla, Louis Comfort Tiffany, 1911, Oil on canvas, 150 x 225.5 cm. On loan from the Hispanic Society of America, New York, NY Photo © Courtesy of The Hispanic Society of America, New York. Henri Matisse, The Rose Marble Table, Issy-les-Moulineaux, spring-summer 1917. Oil on canvas, 146 x 97 cm. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Mrs. Simon Guggenheim Fund, 1956. Photo © 2015. Digital image, The Museum of Modern Art, New York/Scala, Florence / © Succession H. Matisse. Henri Matisse, The Rose Marble Table, Issy-les-Moulineaux, spring-summer 1917. Oil on canvas, 146 x 97 cm. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Mrs. Simon Guggenheim Fund, 1956. Photo © 2015. Digital image, The Museum of Modern Art, New York/Scala, Florence / © Succession H. Matisse. Wassily Kandinsky, Murnau The Garden II, 1910. Oil on cardboard, 67 x 51 cm. Merzbacher Kunststiftung. Photo © Merzbacher Kunststiftung. Wassily Kandinsky, Murnau The Garden II, 1910. Oil on cardboard, 67 x 51 cm. Merzbacher Kunststiftung. Photo © Merzbacher Kunststiftung.

The Modern Mayfair Garden

To coincide with the exhibition and in partnership with Perrier-Jouët¸ Le Caprice restaurant has re-designed their terrace as a beautiful city garden. Enjoy some time out after the exhibition or before – whatever you prefer!  Expect to be spoilt and enjoy delicious Italian cuisine with of course some bubbly. I had a scrumptious chicken salad to start and then a super tasty wild mushroom risotto. To finish we shared a black forest sundae – Trust me, it tastes as good as it sounds! What can I say – exhibitions tend to build a good appetite.

I would highly recommend ‘The Modern Mayfair Garden’, it is such a great package and you get to spend a fabulous day out in London experiencing food and culture at such a good deal. It’s always fun doing something a little different and it is even better when we get to treat ourselves. Definitely one for the Easter holidays!

The Modern Mayfair Garden Le Caprice, Painting the Modern Garden, Monet to Matisse

The Modern Mayfair Garden Le Caprice, Painting the Modern Garden, Monet to Matisse

The Modern Mayfair Garden Le Caprice, Painting the Modern Garden, Monet to Matisse

To book this whole experience, call Le Caprice on 020 7629 2239 quoting ‘Modern Mayfair Garden’. Available: Monday – Thursday: 2pm to 6pm, Friday: 2pm to 6pm, and after 9.30pm, Saturday – Sunday: 12pm to 6pm.  

Package price is £38, excludes service and cover charge. The package must be paid for at time of booking and tickets collected from Le Caprice. The exhibition tickets are valid from Saturday 30 January until Wednesday 20 April, 2016.

*I was kindly invited to experience the Modern Mayfair Garden all views are however my own.

9 Comments

  1. Molly andthePrincess

    23rd March 2016 at 12:23 pm

    I do miss living in London and getting to see all the exhibitions – this one looks a definite crowd puller. What a lovely show for Spring, and the exhibition + lunch package a real treat. I’ve never seen that Sorolla painting of Tiffany before, looks wonderful, the flowers in the background just the colours of Tiffany glass (and look at his little dog!).

    1. Arianna Trapani

      25th March 2016 at 4:06 pm

      Thanks Molly, It really is a great exhibition and just amazing to see how much passion these artists had for gardening especially Monet… A total obsession! x

  2. Carole King

    23rd March 2016 at 1:30 pm

    What a lovely treat hun. Well jell x

    1. Arianna Trapani

      25th March 2016 at 4:04 pm

      Next time we will go together xxx

    1. Arianna Trapani

      25th March 2016 at 4:03 pm

      Thanks Karen – It was so much fun! x

  3. Antonia Ludden

    23rd March 2016 at 7:26 pm

    Ah, that terrace looks so pretty! I too love Impressionism, Arianna, I was obsessed with it when I was doing my A-Level art years ago! This makes me want to dig out all my impressionist art books again 🙂 x

    1. Arianna Trapani

      25th March 2016 at 4:03 pm

      Me too Antonia! My first art book was Van Gogh when I was 8 so I have been obsessed with impressionism ever since. I too did A-Level Art and really do miss painting 😉 xxx

  4. Geraldine

    26th March 2016 at 8:44 am

    How wonderful! A perfect day out. x

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