Aug 12, 2026
Inside Claude Monet’s Dining Room
Uncover the story behind Monet’s dining room with author John Ota at the AGO on August 25
Claude Monet's Dining Room in Giverny. Photos by Melony Duranovich
Author John Ota returns to the AGO on August 25 for Monet’s Dining Room, a lunch-and-learn event delving into Claude Monet’s iconic dining space and the stories behind its design. Drawing on his background in architecture and design, Ota explores the connection between art, food, and the spaces where we gather, offering a fresh perspective on how our surroundings shape the experiences we share.
Throughout The Dining Room, Ota takes readers inside 12 iconic dining rooms—from Monet and Frida Kahlo to Jackie Kennedy—in search of the perfect dining experience. Each chapter explores a different dining room through Ota’s illustrations and includes an era-inspired recipe that brings each space to the table.
For tickets to the dining experience with Ota on August 25, click here.
Claude Monet’s Dining Room, 1905
In this excerpt from Chapter 4 of The Dining Room, Ota writes about his first steps into Monet’s dining room at the artist’s home in the village of Giverny in Normandy, France, reflecting on the details, colours, and atmosphere that make the space so memorable.
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As impressive as this blue oasis of a kitchen is, it is the dining room that I have particularly come to see. A doorway connects the two rooms, and I can feel my eyes become as big as saucers when I step into Monet’s dining room.
Engulfed in a glorious space, with walls awash in a glowing yellow, I feel as though I am being bathed in morning light. The soft hue brings me a feeling of joy that I can actually feel on my skin and inside my chest. It is entirely uplifting, the most stunning room in the house.
Looking around, I find that the vibrant yellow does not stop on the walls, but continues to the ceiling beams, armoires, wood trim, and chairs. Light pours in from a pair of south-facing windows that offer a stunning view of the Monet garden.
It is evident from its large size and luminous decoration that Monet considered the dining room to be the focus of his home. I can see that it was not meant for grant parties, but rather a private room for the family and visiting friends: It’s spacious but made intimate with elegant wood paneling and delicate wood molding that add accents and texture to the walls. I am thrilled to be in the room where Monet shared these moments, dining with his children and entertaining his guests.
Although he was a private, moody man, Monet nevertheless enjoyed entertaining. Marie tells us that lunch at Monet’s house was a coveted invitation, and he welcomed artists such as Renoir, Cézanne, Degas, Auguste Rodin, Édouard Manet, Camille Pissario, Vincent van Gogh, and James McNeill Whistler. (How I wish I could sit at that table with them)
Lunch was served promptly at 11:30 a.m. (the time the family always dined, enabling Monet to make the most of the afternoon light) and dinner sharply at 5:30 p.m. – although guests were never invited to dinner because Monet went to bed early so that he could rise at dawn. Any guests to the house were familiar with Monet’s rigid schedule.
Monet’s cook, Marguerite, would produce a dish that honored the guest: Renoir is known to have liked a particular kind of bouillabaisse, and Cézanne once provided one of his favourite cod recipes. It would have given Monet great pleasure to serve vegetables that he had grown in his own kitchen garden. Meat came from the prize chickens, ducks, and turkeys that he raised next to his house. He fished for pike from his own river.
Claude Monet. Still Life, Tea Service, 1872. Oil on canvas, unframed: 53.3 x 72.7 cm. Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., bequest of Mrs. Eugene McDermott, 2019.67.12.McD
Curious to step inside Monet’s world? Join John Ota at the AGO on August 25 for Monet’s Dining Room, where he’ll share insights from his visit to Monet’s home and the story of the artist’s iconic dining room. Guests can also extend the experience with a Monet-inspired lunch that explores the connection between art, food, and everyday rituals. For more information and to get tickets, visit https://ago.ca/events/monets-dining-room-john-ota.
The exhibition, The Impressionist Revolution: Monet to Matisse from the Dallas Museum of Art, is on view now on Level 4 of the AGO until October 18, 2026. It is organized by the Dallas Museum of Art and curated by Dr. Nicole R. Myers, the DMA’s Chief Curatorial and Research Officer and The Barbara Thomas Lemmon Senior Curator of European Art. The AGO presentation is led by Dr. Caroline Shields, AGO Curator, European Art.
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