This study presents an interpretation of Monet's seascapes of the Normandy coast, arguing that Monet's modernity lay in his production of neo-romantic myths. The author interweaves the history of the sea resorts, analysis and details of Monet's life, and reflections on the marketing of his work.

Published in conjunction with the exhibition: "Monet in Normandy," [held]: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Jun. 17-Sep. 17, 2006; North Carolina Museum of Art, Oct. 15, 2006-Jan. 14, 2007; the Cleveland Museum of Art, Feb. 18-May 20, 2007.

One understudied aspect of the life and works of Oscar-Claude Monet (1840-1926) is the artist's engagement with the town of Étretat on the Normandy coast of France during the mid-1880s. Monet traveled there twice for extended painting sojourns and eventually created over eighty works, more than he painted of any other site away from his home. Through these visits, Monet witnessed Étretat's shift from a quiet fishing village in a dramatic natural setting to a tourist destination. In this focused study, Chiyo Ishikawa places Monet's Étretat works within the context of his artistic ambition and frustration at a key moment in his life and career. She also explores the changing relationship between society and landscape in late nineteenth-century France. The book features sixteen paintings by Monet and his contemporaries Gustave Courbet, Camille Corot, and Eugène Boudin, supplemented by photographs and ephemeral material to bring to life Monet's experience in the region. The biographical context, in addition to the immersive visual experience, offers a vivid account of this significant aspect of Monet's artistic progression.

"The Normany coast ... has long captured the interest of artists. Its seascapes are featured in the work of Impressionist masters Monet, Manet and Boudin. Its seafaring life is well-documented in the work of writers such as Victor Hugo and Guy de Maupassant. Through a stunning selection of paintings, photographs and drawings, [this work] argues that a unique convergence of forces - social, artistic, technological and commercial - along the Normandy coast impacted the development of early Impressionism and made Normandy a nexus for photographers and the avant-garde painters of the late nineteenth century ... The framing dates are 1850, when artists began photographing in Normandy ... and 1874, the year in which Claude Monet's painting Impression :Sunrise was exhibited ... The Lens of Impressionism explores the dialogue between the two media and the backdrop against which both evolved"--Publisher's description.

A collection of essays which look in depth at the political, economic, scientific, religious and art historical context for this complex and often contradictory period in Monet's lfie.