Claude Monet, Free Thinker: Radical Republicanism, Darwin’s Science, and the Evolution of Impressionist Aesthetics

175 Pages·2015·5.15 MB·English

by  Michael J. Call

Call_cpi_cb_AUS dd.qxd 9/5/2015 5:44 AM Page 1
C A M E R I C A N U N I V E R S I T Y S T U D I E S
This revolutionary interdisciplinary study argues that Monet’s artistic practices and choices a
were the direct result of his political stance as a nineteenth-century libre penseur, a position ll
characterized by radical republicanism, a progressive social agenda, and fierce anticlerical-
ism. His efforts to create a style reflecting his personal political code led him to produce paint-
ings proclaimed by like-minded free thinkers as “a science being constantly perfected”
(Gustave Geffroy), that is, emphasizing only observable phenomena in the immediate pre-
sent through scrupulous, insistent on-site observation, capturing the raw data of sensations
and sensory experience, and purporting to record a world free of embedded meaning. C
Darwin’s world similarly comes with no prepackaged reassurance of humankind’s privileged
l
place in it; it is instead a space in which all varieties of organisms and species compete for a
u
limited resources in a struggle for survival. The Darwinian model of nature appears to have
d
influenced Monet’s artistic production increasingly as his style evolved over several decades.
e
In opposition to post-Renaissance art that privileged the human presence in both repre-

M
sentation and the viewing act, Monet’s later paintings create a sense of virtual and visual
equality among all observable phenomena. The human—and the viewer, by extension—is thus
o
represented as neither separate from nature as a disengaged observer nor superior to it but n
rather co-equal with all other organic life forms surrounding it. This approach, while echo-
e
ing Darwin’s admiration of nature and its laws, also reminds humankind of its own fragility t
,
and the hard choices it must make to avoid extinction.
F
r
e
e
“Claude Monet was a free thinker and a secularist. Did such commitments matter to his

painting? This is the question that Michael J. Call addresses through a close reading of the T
h
artist’s oeuvre. The result is a beautiful evocation, oftentimes lyrical, of Monet’s understanding
i
of humankind’s place in time and nature.” n
Philip Nord, Princeton University k
e
r
MICHAEL J. CALLis Professor Emeritus of Humanities at Brigham Young University in
Provo, Utah. He holds a joint Ph.D. in French and Humanities from Stanford University.
He is past president (2011–2013) of the Humanities Education and Research Association,
an international organization of interdisciplinary scholars. While on the faculty at BYU, he
was awarded the Karl G. Maeser General Education Professorship, one of the university’s Claude Monet,
most prestigious teaching honors. His previous publications include Infertility and the
Novels of Sophie Cottinand Back to the Garden: Chateaubriand, Constant and Senancour. x
x Free Thinker

(cid:129)

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Radical Republicanism, Darwin’s Science,
and the Evolution of Impressionist Aesthetics
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A M E R I C A N AN
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U N I V E R S I T Y
www.peterlang.com S T U D I E S MICHAEL J. CALL
Call_cpi_cb_AUS dd.qxd 9/5/2015 5:44 AM Page 1
C A M E R I C A N U N I V E R S I T Y S T U D I E S
This revolutionary interdisciplinary study argues that Monet’s artistic practices and choices a
were the direct result of his political stance as a nineteenth-century libre penseur, a position ll
characterized by radical republicanism, a progressive social agenda, and fierce anticlerical-
ism. His efforts to create a style reflecting his personal political code led him to produce paint-
ings proclaimed by like-minded free thinkers as “a science being constantly perfected”
(Gustave Geffroy), that is, emphasizing only observable phenomena in the immediate pre-
sent through scrupulous, insistent on-site observation, capturing the raw data of sensations
and sensory experience, and purporting to record a world free of embedded meaning. C
Darwin’s world similarly comes with no prepackaged reassurance of humankind’s privileged
l
place in it; it is instead a space in which all varieties of organisms and species compete for a
u
limited resources in a struggle for survival. The Darwinian model of nature appears to have
d
influenced Monet’s artistic production increasingly as his style evolved over several decades.
e
In opposition to post-Renaissance art that privileged the human presence in both repre-

M
sentation and the viewing act, Monet’s later paintings create a sense of virtual and visual
equality among all observable phenomena. The human—and the viewer, by extension—is thus
o
represented as neither separate from nature as a disengaged observer nor superior to it but n
rather co-equal with all other organic life forms surrounding it. This approach, while echo-
e
ing Darwin’s admiration of nature and its laws, also reminds humankind of its own fragility t
,
and the hard choices it must make to avoid extinction.
F
r
e
e
“Claude Monet was a free thinker and a secularist. Did such commitments matter to his

painting? This is the question that Michael J. Call addresses through a close reading of the T
h
artist’s oeuvre. The result is a beautiful evocation, oftentimes lyrical, of Monet’s understanding
i
of humankind’s place in time and nature.” n
Philip Nord, Princeton University
k
e
r
MICHAEL J. CALLis Professor Emeritus of Humanities at Brigham Young University in
Provo, Utah. He holds a joint Ph.D. in French and Humanities from Stanford University.
He is past president (2011–2013) of the Humanities Education and Research Association,
an international organization of interdisciplinary scholars. While on the faculty at BYU, he
was awarded the Karl G. Maeser General Education Professorship, one of the university’s Claude Monet,
most prestigious teaching honors. His previous publications include Infertility and the
Novels of Sophie Cottinand Back to the Garden: Chateaubriand, Constant and Senancour. x
x Free Thinker

(cid:129)

4
0
Radical Republicanism, Darwin’s Science,
and the Evolution of Impressionist Aesthetics
P
E
T
E
R
L
A M E R I C A N AN
G
U N I V E R S I T Y
www.peterlang.com S T U D I E S MICHAEL J. CALL
Claude Monet,
Free Thinker
SERIES XX
FINE ARTS

VOL. 40

This book is a volume in a Peter Lang monograph series.
Every volume is peer reviewed and meets
the highest quality standards for content and production.

PETER LANG
New York  Bern  Frankfurt  Berlin
Brussels  Vienna  Oxford  Warsaw
MICHAEL J. CALL

Claude Monet,
Free Thinker

Radical Republicanism,
Darwin’s Science,
and the Evolution of
Impressionist Aesthetics

PETER LANG
New York  Bern  Frankfurt  Berlin
Brussels  Vienna  Oxford  Warsaw
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Call, Michael J.
Claude Monet, free thinker: radical republicanism, Darwin’s science,
and the evolution of impressionist aesthetics / Michael J. Call.
pages cm. — (American university studies XX: fine arts; vol. 40)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Monet, Claude, 1840–1926—Criticism and interpretation.
2. Freethinkers—France—History—19th century.
3. Impressionism (Art)—France. 4. Art—Political aspects—France—History—19th century.
5. Natural history—Social aspects—France—History—19th century. I. Title.
ND553.M7C35 759.4—dc23 2015008442
ISBN 978-1-4331-3080-9 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4539-1594-3 (e-book)
ISSN 0890-412X

Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the “Deutsche
Nationalbibliografie”; detailed bibliographic data are available
on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de/.

Cover image: Claude Monet, The Petite Creuse River, 1889.
Art Institute, Chicago.

© 2015 Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., New York
29 Broadway, 18th floor, New York, NY 10006
www.peterlang.com

All rights reserved.
Reprint or reproduction, even partially, in all forms such as microfilm,
xerography, microfiche, microcard, and offset strictly prohibited.
To Connie and our children—
Michael, Adrienne, Douglas, and Matthew

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
Chapter 1: The Triumph of Secularism 9
Chapter 2: Republicanism and Science 27
Chapter 3: Claude Monet, Free Thinker 37
Chapter 4: A Scientific Style and Its Interpreters 59
Chapter 5: The Demise of Anthropocentrism 75
Chapter 6: Time and Mortality 95
Chapter 7: The Search for Harmony 109
Chapter 8: The Painted Garden 121
Conclusion 141
Notes 145
Select Bibliography 165
Index 169