Last week a fellow knitter and I decided to indulge in a little light art and culture and ventured forth to see Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse at the Royal Academy of Art. To say it blew me away is an understatement, it is simply the most beautiful exhibition I have ever seen, I loved it unreservedly.  As I wandered the rooms, looking at the various artists works and the abundance of dhalias, chrysanthemums, irises, roses and waterlilies I was lost in my imagination of the gardens of these great impressionists with their blooms, colours and scents heavy in the air, the crunch of gravel underfoot, the sound of water trickling nearby.

When I came into a room devoted to Monet and mostly to his Waterlilies I simply gasped for air, it was stunningly beautiful.  There was painting after painting of waterlilies, painted year after year, it was fascinating to see the interpretations of the same scene.

Some of the other artists are not to be sniffed at, with glorious pieces from Matisse, Manet, Le Sidaner, Van Gogh, Klimt, Bonnard, Cezanne and so  on.

The ending of the exhibition is simply breathtaking, we see Agapanthus Triptych in all its glory, three panels united as Monet intended.

The exhibition ends on April 20th.