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MONET ALBERTO MARTINI By: library full color •is canvases shimmering • have delighted art ntiiry. His studies of the htylighl on open fields. tees, the Rouen tacks fascinate and lino member and pressionist school of Impressionism was I name coined by an art iig by Monet. which appeared in . ist exhibition in 1874. n; was to capture an cm of time. atmosphere. Thus, these ilyze exactly tone and of light on the surfaces to create the effect learned that color and <ter represented if tiny ines of two colors were and the mixing was a distance. Monet met Manet, ris. d Renoir. In the l$70s ked together to develop pitiring a fleeting i as. The subjects are • Seine in the country Everything was seen as s. and areas of color. of pure painting and ions in water, sea he countryside, and the moment. tg mpressionisl group 7. but Monet remained ainter to the end of his style did change: merit dominated and s were used. Beginning gait his series paintings, ws of cliffs along the MONET ALBERTO MARTINI By: AVENEL BOOKS NEW YORK All of the works by Monet ©by S.P.A.D.E.M., Paris, 1978 © Monet MCMLXXVIII by©Fabbri Editori, Milan, Italy English Translation Copyright by Fabbri Editori, Milan, Italy All Rights Reserved First U.S. Edition published 1978 by Avenel Books distributed by Crown Publishers Inc. Printed ian Ibtalcy bdy FeabfbrigEhditoiri, Milan. LibraryofCongress Cataloging in Publication Data Monet, Claude. 1840-1926. Monet. Translation ofClaude Monet. 1. Monet, Claude, 1840-1926. I. Martini. Alberto. ND553.M7A4 1978a 759.4 78-59682 ISBN 0-517-24954-5 Claude-Oscar Monet was born in Paris on November 14, 1840. Prussian war. HisfriendBazille diedayearlaterduring that war. He was the oldest son ofa grocery store owner, who five years After a trip to Belgium, he returned to Paris at the end of1871 after Claude's birth moved with his family to Le Havre. In this and renteda small house in Argenteuil on the banks ofthe Seine. city Monet began his studies andshowed an early talentfor art. He was no longer in a state ofdespondency, which in theprevious From 1856 to 1858 he studied drawing under a certain F.J. years had driven him to attempt suicide, but the times were still Ochard. His first passion was for caricature and he was very fraught withfinancial difficultiesfor him. He was, however, able successfulat it. Then, under theguidance ofthe landscapepainter topaint with some regularity because ofthe help he receivedfrom Eugene Boudin, hisfirst realmaster, he came to lovepainting out- the art dealer Durand-Ruel, the only person who believed in doors, en plein air. Monetandhisfriends Renoir, Sisley, PissarroandCezanne. Itwas In 1859 he wentto ParisandspentallhistimeattheSalon, where with these painters, as well as with Degas and Morisot, that he he was attracted to the works of Daubigny andparticularly to organized the first group show, ironically baptized "Im- Troyon,from whom he receivedencouragement, thanks to aletter pressionists, " a name derivedfrom a Monetpainting, Impression: of introduction by Boudin. Although he was a student at the The Rising Sun. Almost no onein 1874 believedthat theseyoung Academie he did not attend the courses given there. Instead, painters were serious. The visitors at Nadar's studio were scan- against everyone'sadvice he workedmostly on hisown. He didat- dalized; they thought, at best, it was no more than an absurdand tend CharlesJacques's studio as well as the free courses at the ridiculousjoke. But a couple ofpaintings were sold, and a small Academie Suisse, where he met Pissarro. number of critics had the courage to support the Impressionists Familiarizing himselfwith Delacroix's work andin discussions at publicly. These shows were organized again in 1876, 1877, the Brasserie des Martyrs, he enriched his culturalpatrimony. In 1880, 1881, 1882 and1886. Monet, however, didnotparticipate all, he learned more from his artistic experience than from any in the fifth, sixth and eighth exhibitions, for he disagreed with academic teaching. In the fall of 1860 he was called into the some ofthe tendenciesas wellas with some ofthesponsors. In the French army and went to Algeria with the African Chasseurs. beginning of1878, MonetleftArgenteuilandmovedto Vetheuil. Havingfallen ill with anemia there, he returned to Le Havre in Camille was weak andsick. Her health was underminedafter the 1862 to recuperate. Hisfamilyfinally agreedtopay thetaxtofree birth ofhersecondson, Michel, andin September 1879, shedied. " him from serving in the army. In exchange hepromisedto study Monet continued his life as a hunter in search of "impressions. with a seriouspainter. Thisperiodat Le Havre was aparticularly Poissy, Varengeville, Dieppe, Pourville and Etretat were his happy onefortheyoungpainteras he roamedthe countrysideand favorite places. seashore to paint the Normandy landscape. During these excur- Hefinally settled in Giverny. From there he traveleda couple of sions he was often in the company ofBoudin orJongkind. In the times to the South ofFrance, alone or in the company ofRenoir. fall, in Paris, he en—tered Gleyre's studio, where he met Bazille, In the meantime, his financial situation began showing signs of Renoir, and Sisley painters with whom he would maintain improvement, though he had to support the now bankrupt strong bonds offriendshipforthe rest ofhislife. The mostimpor- Hoschede'family, who hadpreviously been hispatrons. Hisshows tant encounters during thisperiod were with Manet, whosepaint- at the Durand-Ruelandatthe Petitgalleriesmetwith both critical ings he had seen in a show in 1863, and, in thefollowing year, andfinancialsuccess, andin 1880, he was at last able to buy the after Gleyre's atelier was closed, with the paintings ofCourbet. house in Giverny. Twoyearslaterhe marriedMme Hoschede. He Endlessly, Monet argued with hisfamily, who didnot approve of traveled less now, though he still made occasional trips to Nor- his independent andrebellious nature andrefusedto supp—ort him. mandy, a trip to Norwayin 1895, afew visitsto London (in 1889, FTooremsatkoefFeonndtsaimneeebtl,eahue, halaodngtothweorbkanckesasoefletshselySeoiunted,ooarnsdininNotrh-e o1f90V0e,la1s9q0u1ezainnd11990044ja,nadsthworotbsrtiaeyfivnisMiatsdrtoidVetonisceeetinhe1p9ai0n8tianngds mandy. The only help he receivedwasfrom Courbet, andespecial- 1909- ly from the devoted Bazille, his painter friends. In 1866, after having hadmodestsuccessat the Salon with afull- Most ofMonet's time was now occupiedin caringfor hisgarden andpond, takingparticularpains with theplants and theflowers length portrait of Camille Doncieux, he again began receiving that hepaintedunceasingly. He was indifferent to hisfame as the financialsupportfrom hisfamily, but notfor very long. Discover- ing that he was living with Camille, they insisted he leave her, major living French artist and to the glory that he had attained even though she was at that moment giving birth to a boy,Jean, with so much work atsuch a highprice. He wasalso indifferentto with only Bazille to assistin the birth. Penniless, desperate, Monet the praises and honors that were bestowed upon him by other was living with an aunt at Sainte-Adresse and could not leave. painters, writers andpoliticians. Theperson closestto Monetfrom These difficult times prevented him from painting with any this last group was the proud Georges Clemenceau. Monet never regularity. He was always on the move, like a vagabond, drifting felt he hadsucceeded, andhe strove to surpass everything he had between ParisandNormandy, escapingfrom his creditors, orhop- achieved before. He agonizedover the dailyproblem oftrying to ing to obtain the money which afriend or an occasional collector reach the limits ofhis perception. hadpromised. In spite ofall these adverse circumstances, he was A painful eye disease did not curb his enthusiasm, and he con- able to create beautifulpaintings. He married Camille in 1810, tinuedto work on his lastpaintings until his death in his housein and they fled to London that same year because ofthe Franco- Giverny on the 5th of December 1926. 3 A new vision of reality revealed by the eye of the most penetrating Impressionist painter. Claude Monet's name is intimately connected with the history of Impressionism, its formation, its development, its conclusions. This is the supreme mark of his artistic importance. The Impres- sionist movement gloriously completed the researches of Natural- ism and laid the groundwork for modern art. Monet was the first and foremost contributor to the birth of Impressionism and to the new manner of expressing a vision, where reality was interpreted — in ways never before imagined fresh, airy, harmonious, where colors dazzled in all oftheir solar intensity, where nature was dis- covered in joyous vibrating life and in changing skies. "I paint as a bird sings," Monet told his friend Geoffroy, and with thesecandid words he described the natural spontaneity of his work. Monet's song revolutionized the course of modern painting. He represents the turning point from what was painted before him to what came after him. Before Monet, even the painters who were close to Im- pressionism painted the shadows in neutral tones. Their paintings were laid out in zones oflight and dark and were often executed in patches. The atmosphere and the time of the day were painted with a balance that made everything look immobile. Light was considered a phenomenon which revealed the miraculous beauty and unity of form. After Monet's creative work, even shadows were given color, and forms were now defined by a live vibrating light. Painting became a fragmented image that found its place within the whole. This natural image was represented in all its — freedom and mobility. Asters Private collection. Next to Monet even the paintings of Delacroix look far less lumi- nous, Corot's liveliest paintings breathe the air of the studio and Manet's work stresses his own academic virtuosity. But Monet's can- vases are a direct transcription of the passing moment. He used color as if it were exploding in myriad fragmented brushstrokes, bringing out the light, inundating the canvas with a solar intensity that tinges even the shadows. It was a new way of seeing and jresenting the world. The public at first saw only the unstruc- ed quality of his sketches and his absurd chromatic ar- rariness. Painters were puzzled when confronted with his style, lich questioned all the basic principles ofpainting. Even the best tics, after having praised the freshness of the "impression," mplained that he left the paintings at an early unfinished stage, it this was precisely Monet's originality and strength, for the imary outline and sketches translated the immediacy of the im- ession and expressed the fidelity of Monet's observation beyond y conventional representation. ery object, person or landscape lives within its own changing at- jsphere and light, each color affects the next one, and upon eful observation we see that the reflection of the green foliage trees tints clothes and faces, the same way the sky tints the water which it is reflected. In nature there are no limited, isolated lors, and the shadows are not neutral. There are shaded areas in lich colors affect each other reciprocally, varying from the sunny ;as in degrees ofluminosity. No one before Monet had analyzed is optical phenomenon with such awareness and subtlety; no one d had the courage to take into consideration that, at a distance, >ods or houses become almost indistinguishable masses. Of urse, understanding and experience teach us that some tree anches grow closer together and some further apart and that ery house is different in a thousand details, but visually this is t the case. M—onet refused to paint what people thought they — ew ofthings he painted what he saw. In order to obtain these The Garden at Giverny Private collection. >ults, which were not programmed but derived from his own Tiperament and sensibility, Monet found himself obliged to in- compose itself naturally in the eye of the observer. In this lay nt a new representational language, a new style; solutions Monet's intelligence. He felt that to go forward in art it would be fered by traditional painting were completely inadequate. Draw- necessary to use the sensory and rational experiences ofthe viewer, chiaroscuro, linear perspective, blotches, tones and values compelling him to put into the work his own understanding and l, uld no longer serve his needs. Hecreated a technique ofpainting perceptions as well as his interpretation. In fact, the development th separated brushstrokes, dashes, commas, where color dazzled of Monet's art, from his first timid experiments with landscapes to th light, where the atmosphere moved and space vibrated with the daring representations of the water-lilies series, almost dis- ;ht. Each brushstroke was clearly separated from the next one. solved within the atmosphere and at the threshold of losing all lere were no overlaps or shadings. They were no longer needed, recognizable form, was the result of the study of light and its r if the observation of the painter was correct, the image would phenomena. Monet realized that he had increased the visual capacity of those who followed him and understood his work. convinced him to put his easel outdoors and paint there. Boudin He had to struggle in order togain acceptance for his new vision, was nogreatpainter; his views wereconventional, buthewas able at times in precarious and even tragic financial situations, but toteach his youngstudent theinfinite possibilitiesofon-sitepaint- toward the end ofthe century he won the understanding and sup- ing and the beauty ofnature under real light. He taught Monet, port of a good number of critics and collectors, who encouraged "everything which is painted directly in its own surroundings him to be even more daring. He now had the proofthat his new appears forceful; it carries a strength, a vitality in the touch that technique was not merelv bizzare and gratuitous, but could be cannot be found in the studio." Monet treasured this knowledge useful in helping others to increase their understanding ofreality. all his life. Boudin was also aware that he could notgive his stu- Monet focused his interests predominantly on the problems ofvi- dent much more than his love for landscape, and he wisely en- sion and representation. While this forced him to bold and couraged Monet to go to Paris, for it was only in an atmosphere previously unattempted artistic expression, it also generated alive with discussion and ferment that an artist can grow. criticism and interpretive distortions. He was often considered just In 1859.attheageofnineteen. MonetarrivedinParis,theartistic a mechanical eye. recording faithfully and scientificallv all visual capital ofEurope, already firmlydecided inthedirectionhewould impressions. Cezanne said ofhim. "Monet is onlv an eve. but mv follow. Monet was sure of himself. He took sides with the God. what an eve landscape painters even more than with Corot and Troyon, whom Monet was considered an intellectual revolutionary, a skillful heappreciatedaspainters. ButhefeltdosetoDaubigny. Itdidnot decorator who showed his limits in his late paintings, which » matter to him that this painter was criticized bv those who ap- splendid failures. These criticisms were unjust not only to the preciated the landscape painters, or that such a subtle and in- brilliance ofthe artist, but also to his lyrical and delicate sensibili- telligent critic as Theophile Gautier commented with bitterness ty, which expressed an authentic grace and a natural gentleness. -per. Daubigny s paintings: "They show us only juxtaposed Monet was the first to realize the instinctive union ofthe eye and blotchesofcolor." Inthis artisticclimate. Monetmadehischoices. the heart, of the observation ofreality and its lyrical transforma- How important was it for Monet to follow Troyon s advice and tion, which was the basic principle of Impressionism. He did so visit the studio of such a traditional painter as Couture? What with a passion and fidelity for his own emotional and stylistic :~.t could he give to his family"s urging that he study in the reasons, which werecharacterized bva totalcoherence, anecessarv studio ofa serious painter? He understood that academicteaching coherence When one speaks of"impression," andinMonet'scase dimmed the light ofnature and cooled the warmth of life, that it happens frequently, one is referring not only to a visual drawing and chiaroscuro exercises deadened the immediate im- phenomenon, but also to the artist's own emotions. We see only pression. All ofthis was enough to make him reject academic dis- what we—choose to see. what we like to see. Monetliked fresh air. cipline. He hated theAcademieso much thatwhen faced withthe sunlight nature. He celebrated his love of nature with the choice given to him by his parents between studying at the freshness and the instinctive joy ofsomeone who felt rewarded, of Academieand enrollingin the army, hechosetoleaveforAlgeria, someone who was exalted in the face ofbeautv. Hi5 ne the with the regiment ofAfrican Chasset: :o be a short • first todiscover and reveal it. his soul was the firsttofeel itsvibra- Monet fell ill at the beginning of 1862 and had to return to his tion and splendor. family. He then had to promise them that he would attend the The course ofMonet's life was steadv and controlled, without up- painting courses in Glevre s atelier regularly. heavals or dispersion. After his first experiences in the field of Beforehereturned to Paris. MonetmetthepainterJongkind, who caricature he had the good fortune to meet Eugene Boudin. who confirmed his feelings about art. It was a fortunate encounter ;cause this restless Dutch painter was perhaps the most ex- tain expansion ofcomposition and a preestablished use oflight and ;rimental artist of the avant-garde. Jongkind was trying to shadow. ;velop a language which would allow painters to represent the The year 1865 marks the maturation of Monet's ideas and ofhis iriationsoflight and ofthe atmosphere. His nervous brushstrokes vision. In his large canvas, Le Dejeuner sur I'Herbe, he used one idoubtedly convinced Monet to elaborate on the techniques that ofManet's themes, but freed it from any traditional tie by treating oudin and Daubigny had shown him, and he now had the it with fragmented brushstrokes. Thus he created a vibrating light mrage to apply them with new strength. which rendered a greater sense ofreality. The treatment offigures 'uring the years of enforced study in Gleyre's atelier, Monet did within a landscape was interpreted with a vivacious brushwork and Dt attend classes regularly, preferring to work outdoors whenever color unknown even to Courbet and Manet. Courbet's advice and i could. Often he and other young students went to Chailly, in suggestions diverted Monet from his own ends, preoccupied him le Forest of Fontainebleau, a place dear to the painters of The .with problems which were not his, to the point of compromising arbizon landscape school whom they particularly admired, his already outstanding work. Monet's huge DejeunersurI'Herbe mong Monet's friends were Bazille, who was not yet sure of was rolled up in a corner, and part ofthe canvas rotted. Only two imself and was still tied to academic conventions; Renoir, who fragments ofthis enormous composition remain, one in the Musee as attracted to the pictorial vigor ofCourbet; and Sisley who still du Louvre and one in the Eknayan Collection, Paris. A smaller mained under Corot's influence. Monet was the only one who painting is in the Pushkin Museum, Moscow, and a study for the ready had the experience of painting outdoors under the left side of the painting is in the Molyneux collection, Paris. The jidance of Boudin and Jongkind. He was the only one with the Russian sketch, dated 1866, is the most luminous and is the icompromising rigor of an initiate, who fought for a modern lightest in feeling, executed with a more airy and fluttering touch ituralism where his vision would not be clouded by prejudices than the two large fragments. It was probably a preparatory work id ambiguous traditions. From then on he assumed the for the larger painting. It is more faithful to the impression, adership of this new artistic movement. because it was probably painted on the spot, though signed and lonet's artistry developed steadily. When he reached a new point, dated the following year. ; immediately tried to go beyond it, to gain new ground with an This painting and Women in the Garden (Musee du Louvre, isistence which was to characterize him all his life. It was a Paris) of 1866-67, along with the landscapes he painted in the issionate investigation of the world and its representation. His same years, in Honfleur and in Paris, are miracles of sensibility eative period extended over a period of a little less than seventy and observation. They are considered the beginning ofa new stage ;ars; it can be viewed as an unwavering line, because his eyes, in of Impressionism. Between Monet and nature there were no >ite of his last illness, remained eternally youthful. He was con- longer any intellectual screens. When Renoir took him to the antly amazed by the spectacle ofthe world, the vitality ofnature Louvre to study the masters, Monet preferred to look out the win- i the changing light—ofthe sun. For it is the sun that helps plants dow and sketch his impressions of nature. Through his eyes and id flowers to grow the plants and flowers he loved, through his vision, a relationship suddenly appeared which con- i 1864, Monet became more specifically concerned with areas of nected the artist's awareness to the external world. At this point, ixtaposed colors, particularly in the landscape paintings that he nothing else mattered for him. lade along the banks of the Seine and in the countryside around His friends followed in his path, aroused by his enthusiasm and by lonfleur. Monet's luminous sensibility was at this point circum- the originality of his discovery, sharing the anguishes of his ribed within the conventional scheme of Courbet's ideas, a cer- researches and the joy ofhis achievements. Those most influenced
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