---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Gertrude Jekyll, like Monet, was a…"
description: "\"Gertrude Jekyll, like Monet, was a painter with poor eyesight, and their gardens - his at Giverny in the Seine valley, hers in Surrey - had resemblance..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edc/eleanor-perenyi-34833_capture_gertrude-jekyll-like-monet-was-a-painter_2972851.jpg"
---

#  Gertrude Jekyll, like Monet, was a painter with poor…

![“Gertrude Jekyll, like Monet, was a painter with poor eyesight, and their gardens - his at Giverny in the Seine valley, hers in Surrey - had resemblance's that may have sprung from this condition. Both loved plants that foamed and frothed over walls and pergolas, spread in tides beneath trees; both…” quote by Eleanor Perenyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edc/eleanor-perenyi-34833_capture_gertrude-jekyll-like-monet-was-a-painter_2972851.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edc/eleanor-perenyi-34833_capture_gertrude-jekyll-like-monet-was-a-painter_2972851.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edc/eleanor-perenyi-34833_capture_gertrude-jekyll-like-monet-was-a-painter_2972851.jpg)

> “Gertrude Jekyll, like Monet, was a painter with poor eyesight, and their gardens - his at Giverny in the Seine valley, hers in Surrey - had resemblance's that may have sprung from this condition. Both loved plants that foamed and frothed over walls and pergolas, spread in tides beneath trees; both saw flowers in islands of colored light - an image the normal eye captures only by squinting.”

[Eleanor Perenyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Limited eyesight can sharpen perception of color and texture, influencing artistic expression in both painting and gardening.

**In simple terms:** Poor vision enhances focus on color and form.

Key Takeaway

Use constraints to develop a unique aesthetic.

Themes

perception artistic vision creativity nature

Mood

inspired contemplative

Type

artistic observational

When to use this quote

- gardening
- painting
- design

Key Concepts

aesthetics visual perception

Questions to Reflect On

- How does a limitation shape your creative process?
- What other senses can you engage to enrich your work?

A Different Perspective

Relying on a single sense may overlook other details.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/garden/) [Gardening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gardening/) [Islands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/islands/) [Jekyll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jekyll/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Painter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painter/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) [Poor eyesight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor-eyesight/) [Squinting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/squinting/) [Surrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surrey/) [Tides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tides/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) [Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall/)

## Related quotes

> [“Sometimes he dreamt he held her; that he would turn in bed and she would be there. But she was gone and he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-cowell/sometimes-he-dreamt-he-held-her-that-he-would-turn-in-bed-and-she/)

Stephanie Cowell

> [“I once saw many flowers blooming Upon my way, in indolence I scorned to pick them in my going And passed in proud indifference.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-heine/i-once-saw-many-flowers-blooming-upon-my-way-in-indolence-i-scorned/)

[Heinrich Heine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinrich-heine/)

> [Somebody can paint with a fine brush like Monet and do millions of little dots or somebody can splatter it up there like Kandinsky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-wilson/somebody-can-paint-with-a-fine-brush-like-monet-and-do-millions-of/)

[Patrick Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-wilson/)

> [I would like to be a great artist. I would quit pitching if I could paint like Monet or Rousseau. But I cant. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-seaver/i-would-like-to-be-a-great-artist-i-would-quit-pitching-if-i-could/)

[Tom Seaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-seaver/)

> [I like, you may say, the glitter and colour that comes from the mouth, and I've always hoped in a sense to be able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-like-you-may-say-the-glitter-and-colour-that-comes-from-the-mouth/)

[Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/)

> [My, I like Judy Holliday! She looks like a Monet model. And she's so - so defenseless. I like defenseless people. They're the best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hepburn/my-i-like-judy-holliday-she-looks-like-a-monet-model-and-she-s-so-so/)

[Katharine Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hepburn/)

> [My first husband dragged me out of London and made me live in the suburbs in Surrey - not where you want to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-jewell/my-first-husband-dragged-me-out-of-london-and-made-me-live-in-the/)

[Lisa Jewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-jewell/)

> [I have a group of people, about 40, in a local church in Surrey in England, who pray for me regularly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cliff-richard/i-have-a-group-of-people-about-40-in-a-local-church-in-surrey-in/)

[Cliff Richard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cliff-richard/)

> [I grew up Windlesham in Surrey, which is a beautiful and quaint village.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirsty-gallacher/i-grew-up-windlesham-in-surrey-which-is-a-beautiful-and-quaint-village/)

[Kirsty Gallacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirsty-gallacher/)

> [“The common where we had walked the previous evening was a deserted tract of land, typical of Surrey, looking as if it might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-powell/the-common-where-we-had-walked-the-previous-evening-was-a-deserted/)

[Anthony Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-powell/)

> [Both my parents are English and I was born in West Africa, and I moved around as a kid, lived in Bristol, lived in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-weaving/both-my-parents-are-english-and-i-was-born-in-west-africa-and-i-moved/)

[Hugo Weaving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-weaving/)

> [I hasten to say to snobs from the Surrey pine-and-sand country that no invention since the corn plaster or the electric toothbrush has brought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-cooke/i-hasten-to-say-to-snobs-from-the-surrey-pine-and-sand-country-that/)

[Alistair Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-cooke/)

> [by and by, the cause of my disease Gives me a pang that inwardly doth sting, When that I think what grief it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-howard-earl-of-surrey/by-and-by-the-cause-of-my-disease-gives-me-a-pang-that-inwardly-doth/)

Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey

> [Oh! full Surrey twilight! importunate band! Oh! strongly adorable tennis-girl's hand!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-betjeman/oh-full-surrey-twilight-importunate-band-oh-strongly-adorable-tennis/)

[John Betjeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-betjeman/)

> [Suffolk has something more than the coziness of Kent and Surrey. There is a hint of wildness in its tamed beauty, and the tang…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-moyes/suffolk-has-something-more-than-the-coziness-of-kent-and-surrey-there/)

[Patricia Moyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-moyes/)

## More by Eleanor Perenyi

> [Sooner or later every gardener must face the fact that certain things are going to die on him. It is a temptation to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/sooner-or-later-every-gardener-must-face-the-fact-that-certain-things/)

[Eleanor Perenyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/)

> [A gift of flowers to a woman implies that she is as deliciously desirable as the blossoms themselves; but there may be another and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/a-gift-of-flowers-to-a-woman-implies-that-she-is-as-deliciously/)

[Eleanor Perenyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/)

> [A garden is a private world or it is nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/a-garden-is-a-private-world-or-it-is-nothing/)

[Eleanor Perenyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/)

> [I have spoken to plants myself, and if pressed for conclusions would have to say that those I threatened did better than those I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/i-have-spoken-to-plants-myself-and-if-pressed-for-conclusions-would/)

[Eleanor Perenyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/)

> [I love blue more than any other color. I am inordinately attracted to any blue substance: to minerals like turquoise and lapis lazuli, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/i-love-blue-more-than-any-other-color-i-am-inordinately-attracted-to/)

[Eleanor Perenyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/)

> [It takes a while to grasp that not all failures are self-imposed, the result of ignorance, carelessness or inexperience. It takes a while to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/it-takes-a-while-to-grasp-that-not-all-failures-are-self-imposed-the/)

[Eleanor Perenyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/)

> [To see things in black and white is to see the basics, and I would recommend to any designer of gardens that he go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/to-see-things-in-black-and-white-is-to-see-the-basics-and-i-would/)

[Eleanor Perenyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/)

> [September is the time to begin again. In the country, when I could smell the wood-smoke in the forest, and the curtains could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/september-is-the-time-to-begin-again-in-the-country-when-i-could/)

[Eleanor Perenyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/)

> [“I ordered a modern purple martin house myself and proceeded to construct a dreadful object: unpainted, it looked like a cheap motel; painted blue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/i-ordered-a-modern-purple-martin-house-myself-and-proceeded-to/)

[Eleanor Perenyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/)

> [Or perhaps you notice a congregation of ladybugs on a rose stalk. Don't invoke the old nursery saying and ask them to fly away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/or-perhaps-you-notice-a-congregation-of-ladybugs-on-a-rose-stalk-don/)

[Eleanor Perenyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/)

> [Americans resent the vagaries of weather to a degree unknown to other peoples. ... Weather is a force we have lost touch with. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/americans-resent-the-vagaries-of-weather-to-a-degree-unknown-to-other/)

[Eleanor Perenyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/)

> [ \[Petunias are\] as hopelessly impractical as a chiffon ball dress. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/petunias-are-as-hopelessly-impractical-as-a-chiffon-ball-dress/)

[Eleanor Perenyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/)

> [To garden is to let optimism get the better of judgment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/to-garden-is-to-let-optimism-get-the-better-of-judgment/)

[Eleanor Perenyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/)

[Explore all 14 Eleanor Perenyi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/)

## More Capture quotes

> [You can't cheat comedy. You know, it either is going to be there on the day you capture or it's not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-lin/you-can-t-cheat-comedy-you-know-it-either-is-going-to-be-there-on-the/)

[Justin Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-lin/)

> [People project a grey energy that is very destructive to weaken you, to drain you - just as the snake uses position to capture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/people-project-a-grey-energy-that-is-very-destructive-to-weaken-you/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [(in the film "That's Entertainment!" - 1974) Thank God for film, it can capture a moment and hold it there forever. If anyone ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-minnelli/in-the-film-that-s-entertainment-1974-thank-god-for-film-it-can/)

[Liza Minnelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-minnelli/)

> [We're in this strange age where we can't say 'I love you,' at least not sincerely. It's something where, if you simplify it, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoffer-boe/we-re-in-this-strange-age-where-we-can-t-say-i-love-you-at-least-not/)

Christoffer Boe

> [Sloppy Firsts perfectly captures the turbulent roller-coaster ride that is being a teenager. This is an (at times) intimate, painfully honest peek at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atoosa-rubenstein/sloppy-firsts-perfectly-captures-the-turbulent-roller-coaster-ride/)

Atoosa Rubenstein

> [His hands are holding my cheeks, and he pulls back just to look me in the eye and his chest is heaving and he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/his-hands-are-holding-my-cheeks-and-he-pulls-back-just-to-look-me-in/)

[Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/)

> [If it Captures Your Imagination, it will captivate others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-schultz/if-it-captures-your-imagination-it-will-captivate-others/)

[Howard Schultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-schultz/)

> [We wanted a musical number that would capture the exhilaration of being out on a boat as they were and sailing with the stars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-musker/we-wanted-a-musical-number-that-would-capture-the-exhilaration-of/)

[John Musker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-musker/)

> [“Happiness that you obtain from others is very unstable. If you cannot capture it yourself no one else will come and grab it for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cat-street/happiness-that-you-obtain-from-others-is-very-unstable-if-you-cannot/)

Cat Street

> [If I lose the light of the sun, I will write by candlelight, moonlight, no light. If I lose paper and ink, I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/if-i-lose-the-light-of-the-sun-i-will-write-by-candlelight-moonlight/)

[Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/)

> [I think I can capture the taste buds of the average right-wing conservative who loves barbecue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-seale/i-think-i-can-capture-the-taste-buds-of-the-average-right-wing/)

[Bobby Seale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-seale/)

> [A terrorist network that believes a nation so tested will fold under pressure of a few horrific acts may capture its attention, but will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-foxx/a-terrorist-network-that-believes-a-nation-so-tested-will-fold-under/)

[Virginia Foxx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-foxx/)

> [My photographs are not just about the instant of movement you capture in the camera. It's much more total, about constant movement that became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-orozco/my-photographs-are-not-just-about-the-instant-of-movement-you-capture/)

[Gabriel Orozco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-orozco/)

> [We must understand that God does not "love" us without liking us - through gritted teeth - as "Christian" love is sometimes thought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallas-willard/we-must-understand-that-god-does-not-love-us-without-liking-us/)

[Dallas Willard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallas-willard/)

> [My songs have a lot going on in them -they're packed with sounds. When I have only three or four minutes to capture something,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/imogen-heap/my-songs-have-a-lot-going-on-in-them-they-re-packed-with-sounds-when/)

[Imogen Heap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/imogen-heap/)

Browse all 1,044 Capture quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Gertrude Jekyll, like Monet, was a painter with poor eyesight, and their gardens - his at Giverny in the Seine valley, hers in Surrey - had resemblance's that may have sprung from this condition. Both loved plants that foamed and frothed over walls and pergolas, spread in tides beneath trees; both saw flowers in islands of colored light - an image the normal eye captures only by squinting.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Eleanor Perenyi"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/gertrude-jekyll-like-monet-was-a-painter-with-poor-eyesight-and-their/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Capture"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/gertrude-jekyll-like-monet-was-a-painter-with-poor-eyesight-and-their/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edc/eleanor-perenyi-34833_capture_gertrude-jekyll-like-monet-was-a-painter_2972851.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edc/eleanor-perenyi-34833_capture_gertrude-jekyll-like-monet-was-a-painter_2972851.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edc/eleanor-perenyi-34833_capture_gertrude-jekyll-like-monet-was-a-painter_2972851.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Gertrude Jekyll, like Monet, was a painter with poor eyesight, and their gardens - his at Giverny in the…” — Eleanor Perenyi",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Eleanor Perenyi",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-perenyi/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Gertrude Jekyll, like Monet, was a...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/gertrude-jekyll-like-monet-was-a-painter-with-poor-eyesight-and-their/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-perenyi/gertrude-jekyll-like-monet-was-a-painter-with-poor-eyesight-and-their/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
