![US-French Robert Sheldon poses among water lilies at the Latour-Marliac nursery in Le Temple-sur-Lot, southwestern France, on August 23, 2017. The Latour-Marliac nursery, a first of its kind in Europe, has been growing coloured water lilies since 1870 and was a source of inspiration for French painter Claude Monet's "Water Lilies" (Nympheas) series. / AFP PHOTO / NICOLAS TUCAT](https://lapatilla.1eye.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/000_RU0JD.jpg?resize=640%2C426)
Hace 90 años, la exposición “Los nenúfares” de Claude Monet era inaugurada en París. ¿Su inspiración? Los nenúfares o lirios de agua de colores procedentes de un vivero del suroeste de Francia, que atesora una historia de 150 años de cultivo.
París, Exposición Universal de 1889: todas las miradas se posan en una espectacular torre de hierro, erigida por un tal Gustave Eiffel. El pintor Claude Monet, un apasionado de las flores, se pasea por los estanques que rodean al monumento. Unas flores completamente atípicas captan su atención: son los nenúfares, amarillos, rosas, rojos…
“Hasta finales del siglo XIX, los únicos nenúfares autóctonos de Europa eran blancos”. Hasta que el vivero Latour-Marliac, situado en la aldea de Le-Temple-sur-Lot, logró por primera vez una hibridación con especies tropicales, dando lugar a nenúfares de colores “resistentes al clima europeo”, explica Robert Sheldon, un franco-estadounidense de 41 años, propietario del lugar.
Su creador, Joseph Bory Latour-Marliac (1830-1911), el benjamín de una acaudalada familia, necesitó una decena de intentos de cruce entre nenúfares blancos y tropicales para realizar su sueño.
– Las facturas de Monet –
“Entre 1870 y 1880, creó 19 variedades. Todas ellas fueron presentadas en la Exposición Universal de 1889, en la que Latour-Marliac recibió el primer premio en su categoría”, afirma Sheldon.
“Se cree que es así que Monet descubrió los nenúfares de colores”, explica. Cuando construyó su jardín de agua en su casa de Giverny (norte) -ahora convertida en museo-, el pintor hizo “un pedido a Latour-Marliac. En los archivos, tenemos facturas dirigidas a Claude Monet”.
El artista fue uno de los primeros de su época en tener un jardín de agua. “Tenía un paisaje exclusivo, pero la gente creía que los nenúfares de colores siempre habían existido”, añade.
A lo largo de más de treinta años, hasta su muerte en 1926, el artista impresionista hallará su inspiración en su jardín, creando la celebérrima serie “Nenúfares”, de casi 300 cuadros.
– Pinceles –
“Están el pincel que sirvió a Joseph Bory Latour-Marliac para hacer sus hibridaciones y el que usó Claude Monet para reproducir su creación en el lienzo”, resume el propietario del vivero.
“En todo el mundo, hay muchos nenúfares que llevan nombres franceses”, recuerda.
Sheldon, que acaba de obtener la nacionalidad francesa, quiere que sus nuevos compatriotas aprecien el patrimonio botánico excepcional que nació en este vivero, donde algunos estanques datan de 1870, y siguen rebosantes de colores, como un magnífico cuadro de Monet.
Instalado en Francia desde hace 15 años, este profesor de marketing enamorado de las plantas acuáticas, compró el vivero hace diez años a una pareja británica, que lo había adquirido a la familia Latour-Marliac en 1991.
Cada año, más de 15.000 visitantes se pasean por las dos hectáreas de este lugar que, con más de 300 variedades de nenúfares, ostenta el título de “colección nacional” atribuido por la Asociación francesa de defensa del patrimonio vegetal (CCVS).
A largo plazo, Sheldon desea que en “vez de retomar nosotros mismos la hibridación, podamos comprar las variedades, cultivarlas y pagar los derechos de propiedad a sus creadores”.
Recuerda que si bien Joseph Bory Latour-Marliac “hizo traspasar las fronteras” del mundo a sus nenúfares desde su pequeña aldea, “nunca cobró por derechos de autor”.
AFP/por Jordane BERTRAND/
![US-French Robert Sheldon poses among water lilies at the Latour-Marliac nursery in Le Temple-sur-Lot, southwestern France, on August 23, 2017. The Latour-Marliac nursery, a first of its kind in Europe, has been growing coloured water lilies since 1870 and was a source of inspiration for French painter Claude Monet's "Water Lilies" (Nympheas) series. / AFP PHOTO / Nicolas TUCAT](https://lapatilla.1eye.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/000_RU0JL.jpg?resize=640%2C427)
The Latour-Marliac nursery, a first of its kind in Europe, has been growing coloured water lilies since 1870 and was a source of inspiration for French painter Claude Monet’s “Water Lilies” (Nympheas) series. / AFP PHOTO / Nicolas TUCAT
![US-French Robert Sheldon poses among water lilies at the Latour-Marliac nursery in Le Temple-sur-Lot, southwestern France, on August 23, 2017. The Latour-Marliac nursery, a first of its kind in Europe, has been growing coloured water lilies since 1870 and was a source of inspiration for French painter Claude Monet's "Water Lilies" (Nympheas) series. / AFP PHOTO / Nicolas TUCAT](https://lapatilla.1eye.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/000_RU0JT.jpg?resize=640%2C426)
The Latour-Marliac nursery, a first of its kind in Europe, has been growing coloured water lilies since 1870 and was a source of inspiration for French painter Claude Monet’s “Water Lilies” (Nympheas) series. / AFP PHOTO / Nicolas TUCAT
![US-French Robert Sheldon checks on water lilies at the Latour-Marliac nursery in Le Temple-sur-Lot, southwestern France, on August 23, 2017. The Latour-Marliac nursery, a first of its kind in Europe, has been growing coloured water lilies since 1870 and was a source of inspiration for French painter Claude Monet's "Water Lilies" (Nympheas) series. / AFP PHOTO / NICOLAS TUCAT](https://lapatilla.1eye.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/000_RU0JW.jpg?resize=640%2C427)
The Latour-Marliac nursery, a first of its kind in Europe, has been growing coloured water lilies since 1870 and was a source of inspiration for French painter Claude Monet’s “Water Lilies” (Nympheas) series. / AFP PHOTO / NICOLAS TUCAT
![A man visits the Latour-Marliac water lily nursery in Le Temple-sur-Lot, southwestern France, on August 23, 2017. The Latour-Marliac nursery, a first of its kind in Europe, has been growing coloured water lilies since 1870 and was a source of inspiration for French painter Claude Monet's "Water Lilies" (Nympheas) series. / AFP PHOTO / NICOLAS TUCAT](https://lapatilla.1eye.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/000_RU0JY.jpg?resize=640%2C426)
The Latour-Marliac nursery, a first of its kind in Europe, has been growing coloured water lilies since 1870 and was a source of inspiration for French painter Claude Monet’s “Water Lilies” (Nympheas) series. / AFP PHOTO / NICOLAS TUCAT
![A man visits the Latour-Marliac water lily nursery in Le Temple-sur-Lot, southwestern France, on August 23, 2017. The Latour-Marliac nursery, a first of its kind in Europe, has been growing coloured water lilies since 1870 and was a source of inspiration for French painter Claude Monet's "Water Lilies" (Nympheas) series. / AFP PHOTO / Nicolas TUCAT](https://lapatilla.1eye.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/000_RU0K2.jpg?resize=640%2C427)
The Latour-Marliac nursery, a first of its kind in Europe, has been growing coloured water lilies since 1870 and was a source of inspiration for French painter Claude Monet’s “Water Lilies” (Nympheas) series. / AFP PHOTO / Nicolas TUCAT
![People visit the Latour-Marliac water lily nursery in Le Temple-sur-Lot, southwestern France, on August 23, 2017. The Latour-Marliac nursery, a first of its kind in Europe, has been growing coloured water lilies since 1870 and was a source of inspiration for French painter Claude Monet's "Water Lilies" (Nympheas) series. / AFP PHOTO / Nicolas TUCAT](https://lapatilla.1eye.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/000_RU0KG.jpg?resize=640%2C427)
The Latour-Marliac nursery, a first of its kind in Europe, has been growing coloured water lilies since 1870 and was a source of inspiration for French painter Claude Monet’s “Water Lilies” (Nympheas) series. / AFP PHOTO / Nicolas TUCAT
![People visit the Latour-Marliac water lily nursery in Le Temple-sur-Lot, southwestern France, on August 23, 2017. The Latour-Marliac nursery, a first of its kind in Europe, has been growing coloured water lilies since 1870 and was a source of inspiration for French painter Claude Monet's "Water Lilies" (Nympheas) series. / AFP PHOTO / Nicolas TUCAT](https://lapatilla.1eye.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/000_RU0V0.jpg?resize=640%2C426)
The Latour-Marliac nursery, a first of its kind in Europe, has been growing coloured water lilies since 1870 and was a source of inspiration for French painter Claude Monet’s “Water Lilies” (Nympheas) series. / AFP PHOTO / Nicolas TUCAT
![A picture shows water lilies at the Latour-Marliac nursery in Le Temple-sur-Lot, southwestern France, on August 23, 2017. The Latour-Marliac nursery, a first of its kind in Europe, has been growing coloured water lilies since 1870 and was a source of inspiration for French painter Claude Monet's "Water Lilies" (Nympheas) series. / AFP PHOTO / NICOLAS TUCAT](https://lapatilla.1eye.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/000_RU0WW.jpg?resize=640%2C427)
The Latour-Marliac nursery, a first of its kind in Europe, has been growing coloured water lilies since 1870 and was a source of inspiration for French painter Claude Monet’s “Water Lilies” (Nympheas) series. / AFP PHOTO / NICOLAS TUCAT
![A koi carp swims under water lilies at the Latour-Marliac nursery in Le Temple-sur-Lot, southwestern France, on August 23, 2017. The Latour-Marliac nursery, a first of its kind in Europe, has been growing coloured water lilies since 1870 and was a source of inspiration for French painter Claude Monet's "Water Lilies" (Nympheas) series. / AFP PHOTO / Nicolas TUCAT](https://lapatilla.1eye.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/000_RU0Y9.jpg?resize=640%2C427)
The Latour-Marliac nursery, a first of its kind in Europe, has been growing coloured water lilies since 1870 and was a source of inspiration for French painter Claude Monet’s “Water Lilies” (Nympheas) series. / AFP PHOTO / Nicolas TUCAT
![A picture shows water lilies at the Latour-Marliac nursery in Le Temple-sur-Lot, southwestern France, on August 23, 2017. The Latour-Marliac nursery, a first of its kind in Europe, has been growing coloured water lilies since 1870 and was a source of inspiration for French painter Claude Monet's "Water Lilies" (Nympheas) series. / AFP PHOTO / Nicolas TUCAT](https://lapatilla.1eye.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/000_RU10V.jpg?resize=640%2C427)
The Latour-Marliac nursery, a first of its kind in Europe, has been growing coloured water lilies since 1870 and was a source of inspiration for French painter Claude Monet’s “Water Lilies” (Nympheas) series. / AFP PHOTO / Nicolas TUCAT
![A frog rests on water lilies at the Latour-Marliac nursery in Le Temple-sur-Lot, southwestern France, on August 23, 2017. The Latour-Marliac nursery, a first of its kind in Europe, has been growing coloured water lilies since 1870 and was a source of inspiration for French painter Claude Monet's "Water Lilies" (Nympheas) series. / AFP PHOTO / NICOLAS TUCAT](https://lapatilla.1eye.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/000_RU117.jpg?resize=640%2C427)
The Latour-Marliac nursery, a first of its kind in Europe, has been growing coloured water lilies since 1870 and was a source of inspiration for French painter Claude Monet’s “Water Lilies” (Nympheas) series. / AFP PHOTO / NICOLAS TUCAT
![A picture shows a bumblebee on a lotus flower at the Latour-Marliac nursery in Le Temple-sur-Lot, southwestern France, on August 23, 2017. The Latour-Marliac nursery, a first of its kind in Europe, has been growing coloured water lilies since 1870 and was a source of inspiration for French painter Claude Monet's "Water Lilies" (Nympheas) series. / AFP PHOTO / NICOLAS TUCAT](https://lapatilla.1eye.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/000_RU120.jpg?resize=640%2C427)
The Latour-Marliac nursery, a first of its kind in Europe, has been growing coloured water lilies since 1870 and was a source of inspiration for French painter Claude Monet’s “Water Lilies” (Nympheas) series. / AFP PHOTO / NICOLAS TUCAT