Internationally recognised art and literary critic, writer and cultural producer. Published in ELLE, Glamour, Esquire and Cosmopolitan; member of the Union of Writers.
Claude Monet is one of the most beloved and influential artists of all time. His paintings of landscapes, seascapes, gardens, and water-lilies have captivated millions of viewers with their luminous colors, fluid brushstrokes, and atmospheric effects. He is widely regarded as the founder of Impressionism, a movement that revolutionized the art world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
But who was the man behind the masterpieces? What drove him to paint with such passion and persistence? What challenges and tragedies did he face in his personal and professional life? And how did he shape the history and future of art?
These are some of the questions that Jackie Wullschläger, the chief art critic for the Financial Times, answers in her new biography, Monet[^1^][1]. The book, which is the first account of the celebrated artist’s work and private life written in English, draws on extensive research, including Monet’s letters, account books, and interviews with his family and friends. Wullschläger paints a vivid and nuanced portrait of Monet, revealing his complex and contradictory personality, his artistic vision and evolution, and his lasting impact and legacy.
A Contradictory and Difficult Man
Monet was born in Paris in 1840, and grew up in Le Havre, a port city in Normandy. He showed an early talent for drawing, and began to paint en plein air (outdoors) with his mentor, Eugène Boudin, a landscape painter. He moved back to Paris in 1859, where he studied at the Académie Suisse and met other young artists, such as Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, and Frédéric Bazille, who would become his lifelong friends and collaborators.
Monet was a rebellious and restless spirit, who rejected the academic and conservative art establishment of his time. He preferred to paint what he saw and felt, rather than what he was taught. He was inspired by the modern life and nature of Paris and its surroundings, as well as by the works of painters such as Édouard Manet, Gustave Courbet, and Camille Pissarro. He experimented with light, color, and movement, creating spontaneous and expressive impressions of his subjects.
Monet was also a contradictory and difficult man, who struggled with poverty, depression, and self-doubt. He was passionate and loyal, but also impulsive and selfish. He abandoned his first muse, mistress, and future wife, Camille Doncieux, six weeks before she gave birth to his son, Jean, in order to visit his family and paint. He later married Camille, but had an affair with Alice Hoschedé, the wife of his patron and friend, Ernest Hoschedé. He eventually married Alice after the deaths of Camille and Ernest, and raised their eight children together.
Monet was generous and empathetic, but also demanding and stubborn. He had enduring friendships with fellow artists, such as Renoir, Sisley, Bazille, and Paul Cézanne, as well as with influential figures, such as Georges Clemenceau, France’s prime minister, and Octave Mirbeau, a writer and critic. He supported and encouraged his peers, and helped organize the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874. He also fought for recognition and respect, and refused to compromise his artistic integrity and independence. He faced criticism and rejection from the public and the critics, who mocked and misunderstood his style and technique. He also faced personal and professional challenges, such as the Franco-Prussian War, the death of his wife and son, and the decline of his eyesight.
A Visionary and Innovative Artist
Monet was a visionary and innovative artist, who created some of the most iconic and influential paintings of his era. He painted over 2,000 works, ranging from portraits and still lifes to landscapes and seascapes. He traveled extensively, and painted in various locations, such as London, Venice, Norway, and the Mediterranean. He was fascinated by the changing effects of light, weather, and seasons on his subjects, and often painted the same scene at different times of the day and year.
Monet was also a pioneer of serial painting, a method of creating multiple versions of the same motif, such as haystacks, poplars, cathedrals, and water-lilies. He used this technique to explore the variations and nuances of color, form, and atmosphere, and to create a sense of continuity and harmony. He also experimented with large-scale and panoramic formats, creating immersive and monumental compositions that challenged the conventional boundaries of painting.
Monet’s most famous and ambitious project was his water-lilies series, which he painted in the last decades of his life. He created a water garden in his home in Giverny, where he planted exotic flowers and plants, and built a Japanese bridge. He painted hundreds of canvases depicting the water-lilies, the reflections, and the sky, using vibrant and expressive colors and brushstrokes. He also designed and donated a set of 22 water-lily paintings to the French state, which are now displayed in two oval rooms at the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris. These paintings are considered his masterpiece, and a precursor of abstract art.
A Lasting Impact and Legacy
Monet had a lasting impact and legacy on the history and future of art. He was one of the founders and leaders of Impressionism, a movement that revolutionized the art world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He influenced and inspired generations of artists, such as Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and Jackson Pollock. He also paved the way for the development of modern art movements, such as Post-Impressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, and Abstract Expressionism.
Monet’s paintings are among the most popular and admired works of art in the world. They are exhibited and collected by major museums and galleries, such as the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the National Gallery in London. They are also sold and auctioned for record-breaking prices, such as “Meules” (1890), one of his haystack paintings, which fetched $110.7 million at Sotheby’s in 2019. They are also reproduced and celebrated in various forms of media and culture, such as books, films, posters, and merchandise.
Monet’s life and art are the subject of a new biography by Jackie Wullschläger, the chief art critic for the Financial Times. The book, which is the first account of the celebrated artist’s work and private life written in English, is a comprehensive and captivating portrait of Monet, revealing his personality, his vision, and his legacy. The book is a must-read for anyone interested in Monet, Impressionism, and the history of art.
[^1^][1]: Monet. By Jackie Wullschläger. Penguin; 576 pages; £35. To be published in America by Knopf in September 2024
