George M. Shackelford

The first comprehensive examination of the painter's formative years, tracing the evolution of Monet's early style and personal ambitions that drove the rest of his career This elegant volume is the first to be devoted to the young genius of Claude Monet (1840-1926). Bringing together the greatest paintings from his early career-including his first Salon-exhibited work, the Kimbell Art Museum's La Pointe de la Heve at Low Tide; Dejeuner sur l'Herbe (Luncheon on the Grass) and The Magpie from the Musee d'Orsay; and The Green Wave and La Grenouillere from the Metropolitan Museum of Art-it features essays by distinguished scholars, focusing on the evolution of Monet's own distinctive mode of painting. Through the 1860s, the young painter absorbed and transformed a variety of influences, from the lessons of the Barbizon school and his mentor Boudin to the challenges posed by his friends Manet, Pissarro, Renoir, and Sisley. Artistic innovation and personal ambition shaped the work of the celebrated impressionist painter from the very start of his long and illustrious career.

A detailed overview of the innovation and ambition that drove one of the best-known Impressionist painters at the end of his career In the later years of his life, Claude Monet (1840-1926) stayed close to home, turning to his extraordinary garden at Giverny for inspiration. The garden became a laboratory for the artist's concentrated study of natural phenomena-and for a revolutionary shift in the appearance and execution of his paintings. This beautiful publication examines the last phase of Monet's career, beginning in 1913, bringing together approximately 60 of his greatest works from this period. More specifically, Monet: The Late Years focuses on the series that Monet invented and reinvented at Giverny, reevaluating many large-scale works that have long been considered preparatory studies, reexamining their relationship to and status as finished works. Essays by a roster of distinguished scholars address topics such as Monet's plans for displaying his late paintings, the mechanics of his painting technique, and the critical and market reception of these works. Through this visually stunning reassessment, Monet's late works, still astonishing a century later, recast the titan of Impressionism as a radical modern painter.