Monet seldom left Giverny in his later years. Since 1914 he had been working on the Grand Decorations that he promised to the French state. Having created his own garden, he no longer felt the need to travel the countryside looking for subjects but could instead study the themes around him, producing series on specific subjects. In the summer, when it became stifling in his studio, he took his easel and canvases out into the garden and painted the views there. For example, this Allée des rosiers, which extended from his house, can be compared to the Japanese Bridge series. As in the latter, the construction, which centers on a slender arch, is overgrown with dense vegetation that saturates the space. The effects of Monet’s cataract condition are very much to the fore here, notably in the dominant reds and greens and thick impasto, brushstroke over brushstroke. Even for those familiar with the setting, it would be difficult to say where this is. These works were never shown in Monet’s lifetime and have been seen only rarely since, but this most personal part of his work was no doubt the richest in terms of its inspiration for the art of the 20th century.