Do you have a favorite classic work of art?
Do you love the way the artist masterfully painted a certain setting and wish you could visit there?
Well, here are some real-life settings of your favorite works of art!
The Water Lilies, Claude Monet (Giverny, France)
Claude Monet, the great Impressionist painter, resided in Giverny, France from 1883 until his death in 1926.
Ten years after Monet and his family first settled in Giverny, they bought the plot of land neighboring the property they lived on. Monet dug a small pond out of the brook that flowed through the grounds and constructed a garden inspired by the Japanese woodblock prints he owned.
Two famous and well-loved Monet works are based off this beautiful garden; The Water Lilies and The Japanese Bridge.
The Water Lilies is a series of 250 oil paintings depicting this garden, which you can visit in addition to Monet’s other gardens.
The original Water Lilies and Japanese Bridge can be viewed at Princeton University Art Museum.
American Gothic House, Grant Wood (Eldon, Iowa)
American Gothic House is one of the most recognized works of modern art.
The painting features the Dribble house with its prominent neo-gothic window. Today, you can visit the Dribble house and even take a few posed photos for yourself! While there, be sure to visit the museum and visitors center.
The original painting is housed at the Art Institute of Chicago.
The Café Terrace at Night, Vincent van Gogh (Arles, France)
Vincent van Gogh lived in Arles, France for a year in 1888. It is here where he truly developed his signature style of bright colors and bold brushstrokes seen in many of his 2100 paintings, including The Bedroom, The Yellow Hour, and The Café Terrace.
You can visit La Café de Nuit, the very same cafe that Vincent painted in 1888. There are other sites van Gogh painted of the town you can visit as well.
The Café Terrace at Night is located at the Kroller-Muller Museum in the Netherlands.
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, Georges Seurat (Paris, France)
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte is an 1884 piece by Georges Seurat. The work is a stunning example of pointillism and Post-Impressionism.
The Island of la Grande Jatte depicts Parisians relaxing in the shade along the River Seine.
Upon further examination, you can see various odd figures, such as a woman with a monkey on a leash and another woman fishing. In the center is a girl in white, the only figure without a shadow, staring directly at the viewer.
This piece is believed to have been a commentary on the social class of the time.
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte can be viewed at the Art Institute of Chicago.
At the Moulin Rouge, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (Paris, France)
Toulouse-Lautrec’s famous Moulin Rouge paintings are some of the most recognizable. This Post-Impressionist often frequented the nightclub and painted many vivid oil works of its performers and his friends.
The subjects in his paintings are often recognized as popular dancers or well-known patrons of the time.
Today, you can visit the Moulin Rouge in Paris, where an all-ages show is put on every night. Dinner is available if you choose to dine there as well.
Toulouse-Lautrec’s At the Moulin Rouge is on display at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Many famous works of art were inspired by real-life surroundings of the artists. Today you can visit these inspirational locations for yourself.
And be sure to take a trip and see how the original works compare to the real-life settings.
