Monet

Discover the most beloved of the Impressionist masters, Claude Monet . Working en plein air, Monet's depictions of reality unfolding "between the motif and the artist" emphasized the ephemeral moment and with it became eternal symbols of nascent Modernism.

Celebrated as the "Prince of the Impressionists," Claude Monet (1840–1926) radically transformed the way we understand painting on canvas. In open defiance of centuries of previous tradition, Monet sought to represent not only reality, but the very act of perception. Working en plein air with rapid, impetuous brushstrokes, he investigated the play of light on colors, shapes, and contours, and the way these visual impressions reach the eye.

Monet's interest in that space "between the motif and the artist" also encompassed the ephemeral nature of every image we see. In his beloved water lily series, as well as in his paintings of poplars, wheatstacks, and Rouen Cathedral, he returned to the same subject repeatedly in different seasons, weather conditions, and times of day, exploring the incessant mutability of our visual environment.

This volume offers an essential introduction to an artist whose works reflect both on the very meaning of the image and the passage of time, irreversibly transforming the history of art.

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