Claude Monet (1840–1926) is one of the most admired and famous painters of all time and the architect of Impressionism: a revolution that spawned modern art. His technique of painting outdoors, at sea, or in city streets was as radically new as his subject matter, the landscapes and middle-class pleasures of neo-industrial Paris. Painting with an unprecedented direct and authentic approach, Monet asserted that his work was something new: both natural and true. In this new introductory study, James H. Rubin—one of the leading specialists in 19th-century French art—traces the evolution of Monet's practice, from his early works as a sketch artist to his later paintings of water lilies and his garden at Giverny. Rubin explores the cultural currents that helped shape Monet's work: the utopian thinking that birthed his politics, his interest in Japanese prints, gardening, and trends in decorative arts, as well as his relationship with previous French landscape painters and contemporaries like Manet and Renoir.

Pages: 224, Publication Year: 0319, Dimensions: 15x15cm