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By the Impressionist era, the city of Paris had undergone a transformation. Once a dense maze of narrow medieval streets, its newly broadened boulevards, regularized grid of building facades, and increasing number of bustling train stations ushered the city into the modern, industrial era. Alongside what one scholar has called the  ruthless urban geography  of 19th-century Paris, however, was a  greening up  of the city. Tree-lined avenues, private gardens, and public parks offered urban dwellers respite from the urban environment without having to leave the city, and trains whisked Parisians off to the suburbs, where outdoor leisure along the Seine promised an escape from the built environment. Discover how Monet responded to this  green wave  with his colorful, sensitive, and inventive approaches to painting nature against the backdrop of this modern, urban context, including his own adventures in gardening at Giverny.

Presented by Molly Medakovich, Ph.D., art historian and Denver Art Museum teaching specialist.