A major biography of the artist, supported by a wealth of examples of his work.

The definitive Monet biography by Daniel Wildenstein, a leading authority on impressionist painting and author of the catalogue raisonné of Monet's works, is lavishly illustrated with 572 reproductions and complementary photographic documents. A visual representation of an extraordinary artistic career, which simultaneously brings to life the spirit of a whole era.

Monet was the most typical and the most individual Impressionist painter. But while the painter was faithful and persevering in the pursuit of his motifs, his personal life followed a more restless course. Parisian by birth, he discovered painting as a youth in the provinces, where one of his homes, Argenteuil, has come to represent the artistic flowering and official establishment of Impressionism as a movement.

Claude Monet is one of the most famous painters in history, and he is considered a pioneer of the Impressionist movement. What is Impressionism, and how does Monet's work reflect its purest principles? Readers discover the answers to these and other questions about Monet's life and work as they examine the stories behind some of his most beloved paintings. Colorful examples of his work and photographs from his life fill the pages, alongside annotated quotes from art historians, other artists, and Monet himself. Detailed sidebars appeal to young artists and provide more fascinating details about Monet's life.

This book sets Money's challenges and achievements within personal and historical contexts and carefully reconstructs his painting campaigns and strategies. What unfolds is a complicated story of an aging artist determined to create a new art. This book is the catalogue of a Monet exhibition that opened at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston on September 23, 1998, before opening at the Royal Academy of Arts in London on January 21, 1999.

A look at the life and work of Claude Monet presents reproductions of his work and discusses his unique techniques, his personal life, his correspondence, and his relationships with other artists.