In conversation with Philippe Piguet. Great-grandson-in-law of Claude Monet as well as an art critic, Philippe Piguet has published À la table de Monet (2010), based on the family’s culinary archives. Here, he shares his knowledge of the links between the great painter and gastronomy.
What struck you most looking through these archives?
The thing that struck me most was what a healthy appetite Monet had! I’ve always been fascinated by family stories. As a teenager, I often rummaged through the drawers around the house in Giverny. Alice Hoschedé, who lived here first as Monet’s partner and then became his wife, was my great-grandmother. I found the menus for the weddings of both my grandmother (in 1902) and my mother (in 1926), each printed with a photographic reproduction of the water lily pond. They featured eight courses, including foie gras, crayfish flan, stew, shoulder of lamb… It’s mind-boggling! Monet was a gourmet who could at times be greedy!
What part did gastronomy play in Monet’s life?
As a young man, Monet wasn’t well off. While living in Argenteuil, he mainly ate potatoes! Once settled in Giverny, and by then famous, he discovered the joys of fine dining. Cuisine went hand in hand with a refined way of living, featuring Limoges crockery, an impeccably laid table for each meal, and a marked attention to detail. Alice’s influence was crucial, as she was from the upper middle class. She introduced Monet to this refined culture.
Did Monet have mealtime rituals?
The day was entirely organized around his work. Breakfast was served at 6am, and included andouillette (tripe sausage) and white wine, if you please! Lunch was served at 11.30am on the dot; even my mother, when at the local school during the First World War, had to leave class early to make sure she arrived at table at the designated time. Dinner was at 7pm. The house ran on this rigorous timetable.
What was the atmosphere like in Monet’s Giverny dining room?
Picture a dining room painted yellow to capture more light, a blue dresser, a fireplace and, on the tablecloth, cut crystal glass, silverware and plates with a blue border known as ‘”bleu Monet’’. Alice and the children ate their meals here, joined on Thursdays and Sundays by the wider family. Friends were often invited too, such as Renoir, Cézanne, the journalist Mirbeau, the art critic Geffroy… and Clemenceau, of course, a major political figure as well as a loyal friend of Monet. Here, art and history mixed around hearty dishes.
What about an anecdote or two about meals with famous guests?
My mother, as a child, sometimes dined with Monet and Clemenceau. She recalled how the statesman ate his soup wearing his grey gloves, because his eczema was so bad. And every year, Monet would invite the members of the literary Académie Goncourt to a meal. All told, the dining room was a place that fostered closeness and pleasure.
Which recipe reflects Monet’s tastes best, would you say?
I did in fact put together a ‘‘Monet menu’’. As a starter, œufs berrichons, egg yolks mixed with cream and parsley, baked in the oven to give a golden crust. As a main, sole à la florentine, combining cream and spinach. Then a salad, which Monet himself would always season, adding nasturtium flowers for their peppery taste as well as their artistic beauty. To finish, a cherry clafoutis, his favorite pudding.
Could it be said that Monet ate as he painted?
Monet rarely painted food, except in his famed Déjeuner sur l’herbe (Luncheon on the Grass), or depicting the odd family meal, perhaps a piece of meat, or some fried eggs. However, his fascination with color and light did influence his way of eating, for instance those nasturtium flowers in his salads, the golden color of oven-cooked items and the color palette of his crockery! Rather than being a painter inspired by cookery, Monet’s sense of aesthetics influenced his everyday life.
He was a plein-air painter who appreciated his picnics…
Picnics were a part of family life. In the 1900s, Monet, fascinated by automobiles, liked to drive everyone to the horse races at Gaillon, near Giverny. All was carefully planned, with foie gras and fine wines readily to hand. When his painting wasn’t going well, Monet was even known to drive some 200km south to Lamotte-Beuvron, to go and see the Tatin Sisters and find comfort eating their famed apple tart! In Paris, he had his favorite addresses, such as Prunier, a restaurant he liked for its oysters. He also appreciated certain English culinary specialties, such as scones and biscuits… recalling his stays in London.
Were you able to cook a dish for Monet today, what would you make?
I’d make him meringues! When I opened an art gallery in Giverny, I’d make hundreds of them whenever we had a private view. I think he’d have loved these little delights, such sweet treats and so moorish.
