Women in the garden
Monet’s technique of “en plein air” painting was hard at work on this painting. Because it necessitated that he work from the same point of view as he painted, he dug a trench for the bottom half of the painting to sit in while he painted the top, due to its large size (it measures 100 by 81 inches). His model for the women of the painting was Camille Doncieux, who would later become his wife, bearing him two sons. To finish the dresses in the most fashionable style, Monet used magazine illustrations to render the clothing.
