Product Description
This lavishly illustrated book presents the first complete overview of the life, art, and times of the quintessential Impressionist.Tucker, one of our foremost authorities on Monet, offers a striking new view of the artist, showing him to be a far more complicated figure than previously acknowledged, fiercely competitive and ambitious, as well as sensitive and inventive. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Monet
i thought that this was a great book.it was wonderfully written, givingyou a new understanding of the life of a great artist.not only was thebook well writen but it was also full of hundreds of great recreations ofmonets best work.

Excellent!
This book gives a very good over view of his life and work. What he went through to get to where he became well known. This books is well illustrated with work that is not well known and several of his more wellknown work. ... Read more

Product Description
Strokes of genius: the magic of Monet...

Claude Monet (1840–1926) was both the most typical and the most individual painter associated with the Impressionist movement. His long life and extraordinary work were dedicated to a pictorial exploration of the sensations which reality, and in particular landscape, offer the human eye. Monet’s poplars, grain stacks, Rouen Cathedral, and waterlily paintings — among the most beloved works of the Impressionist period — were created long before the currents of the contemporary avant-garde and had an inestimable influence on the development of modern art. This book traces the life’s work of one of art history’s most beloved painters. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Lizzy
This is a very well written book, I really enjoyed reading about Monet's life. It has beautiful clear photos of his paintings.A great insight into his methods of painting and the different stages he went through during his long and fruitful life.Claude Monet - 1840-1926: a Feast for the Eyes

Well illustrated but the text lacks depth
Monet by Karin Sagner provides a chronological account of Monet's life and work, with perhaps the emphasis on the former. While his paintings are discussed in relation to his life and travels, and occasionally influences, there is only a little in the way of in depth discussion of the work itself. The book concludes with a Biographical Summary illustrated with black and white photographs; there is no bibliography.

This is a well produced and attractively presented book; the pictures run with the text, and appear on the same page or as close as is practical to their mention in the text. The text is printed in quite a large size, and the images vary from around postcard size to full page plates and are almost entirely in full colour. There are about 225 illustrations, all but a very few of the paintings in full colour, most of the black and white images being period photographs. The quality of the plates is excellent often revealing the bush work and texture of the painted surface.

Good Overall Presentation
Taschen always offers high-quality art books on glossy paper at very reasonable prices; this Monet volume is a case in point.My only gripe is that more late work is not presented, such as full-page spreads of the late water lily paintings.Still, you can't beat the price. ... Read more

Product Description
By the beginning of the twentieth century, Claude Monet was a figure of national importance in France, the "patriarch" of impressionism and the country's foremost landscape painter. This richly illustrated book examines for the first time the rich body of work that Monet completed from 1900 until his death in 1926, a period during which he was enormously productive, increasingly wealthy and ever more venerated. The paintings which crowned Monet's career included over 500 views of London, Venice and his gardens at Giverny. These paintings are almost signature canvases, especially the famous Water Lilies. However, they also presented him with enormous challenges: his London pictures took almost four years to complete, as did his Venice views, and his garden paintings, much more diverse than is generally known, became a persistent obsession. This book sets Monet's challenges and achievements within personal and historical contexts and carefully reconstructs his painting campaigns. It also assesses his public persona and considers his personal and professional strategies. What unfolds is a complicated story of an ageing artist determined to create a new art.This book is the catalogue for a new exhibition that celebrates the achievement of Claude Monet after 1900. It includes essays on the evolution of Monet's work after 1900, its relationship both to his earlier work and to contemporary critical and artistic developments, and the subsequent cultural and critical concerns which have shaped the more recent reception of his late work. It will open at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston on 23rd September, 1998 and run to 3rd January, 1999, before opening at the Royal Academy of Arts in London on 21st January 1999.Amazon.com Review
After the scores of beautiful Monet books that have beenpublished over the last two decades, it is hard to imagine that a newone could be indispensable.But this volume, the catalog of anexhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston (fall 1998, thentravels to the Royal Academy of Arts in London) is more than justlovely. The main essay, by Paul Hayes Tucker, is a spellbindinghistory that ably places Monet and his late works in the context ofthe shattering political upheavals of his time. Tucker demonstratesthe patriotic ideal of La France, which for Monet and his public wasthe ur-subject of his entire oeuvre up to the end of the 19thcentury, from the crashing waves at Étretat to the shimmeringfacades of Chartres. Then came the Dreyfus affair, with the CatholicChurch and French conservatives united in an anti-Semitic attackagainst the innocent Jewish army captain accused of treason. Monetpassionately and actively joined the writer Émile Zola, who wasarrested for defending Dreyfus in his famous article, "J'Accuse."Tucker traces the rift in Monet's use of imagery from this timeforward, as he turns his back on quintessentially French scenes tofocus instead on the closely observed gardens in his own backyard. Tucker also subtly evokes Monet's despair during the long yearsof World War I, and his often heroic efforts to be of use, despite hisage. This sumptuous volume, with its 12 fold-out plates of theWater Lilies, is very, very beautiful, but its story of anaging artist deeply engaged in his art and his times is something evenbetter. --Peggy Moorman ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A wonderfull look at Monet
I found this book not only to be filled with the wonderfull works of Claude Monete but it also has a great insight to his life and the imprssion he left on modern art today. This book also contains full fold-out picturesof some of the artists best works. For anyone who has ever enjoyed any ofMonets work you will love this book.

A must,for anyone looking to expand an art library!
This book is a perfect addition to any art library. Having seen "Monet in the 20th Century" in Boston at the Museum of Fine Arts, I was wellprepared for the exhibit by having read the book first. I foundthe exhibit to be an extraordinary example of Monet's achievment in hislater years. This book focuses on the works of Monet starting at the startof this century right up to his death in 1928. All through this period ofMonet's life and including the representation of the body of work producedwithin those years, this book never skips a beat. Although not anall-encompassing look at his complete works of that period, this bookoffers the best look out there of his paintings as well as his developmentthroughout the last quarter-century of his life. I found it to be inkeeping with what is already known about Monet's later years, but certainlynot devoid of interesting insights. The quality of the book, it's contents,including all of the color plates reproduced within is very good. I wouldnot have an art library without Monet representation, and this is the idealbook for an addition or a starter. ... Read more

Product Description
Julie lives in Paris, but she longs to walk in a beautiful country garden. When her mother takes her on a visit to rural Giverny, Julie discovers a beautiful garden and befriends the man she believes is the gardener. In fact, he is the gardenÂ's owner, the immortal artist Claude Monet. This is a title in BarronÂ's AnholtÂ's Artists Books for Children series, in which author and illustrator Laurence Anholt recalls memorable and sometimes amusing moments when the lives of the artists were touched by children. AnholtÂ's fine illustrations appear on every page and include reproductions of works by the artists. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

This whole series is fantastic
I can't say enough good about this series. It is a creative way to introduce kids to these artists.They are written to be kids stories and entertain while throwing in some information about who the artist is, to show the artists' general style and introduce some specific works by the artist.My daughter is 5.She soaks this stuff in.I think she would have been able to be as receptive to the stories at age 4 and maybe just earlier than that but it would have been pushing the envelope.I suspect she will enjoy the stories for another couple years.

It has lead us to google some of the actual artists' works.My daughter now wants to find some museums that have some of the pieces that are addressed in the books.

A pure delight!
This is a delightful book that even my two year old adores.When she learned that we have a small Monet print, she was enamored.Now she points to the painting every time we get the part where several of his paintings are on display.This is a great book to help build your child's appreciation for art.This book is a treasure and the kind we need to see more often in the genre.

Great way to introduce Monet's works to children
This is a magical book as it not only tells a charming story of a little girl named Julie and her dog Louey discovering the wonders of Claude Monet's garden, but it also contains beautiful renderings of Claude Monet's famous paintings such as those of the water lilies. The book is filled with vibrant colors of the French countryside and Monet's garden, and there is a special fold-out section in the middle of the book that opens to reveal a stunning and delightful sight. This is a wonderful way to introduce art appreciation for young children, and is suitable for ages 4-8, perhaps even younger.

Beautiful Book!
What a beautifully illustrated book! This was a wonderful book based on a true story. I used it with pre-schoolers and they really enjoyed the story as well as the beautiful artwork. I highly recommend it!

Magical Garden inspired my students
Anholt's lovely book about Monet is my favorite of the series about famous artists.He demystifies impressionism and actually inspires children to paint their own "magical gardens"!! ... Read more

Product Description

One of the most influential painters of modern times, Claude Monet lived for half his life in the famous house at Giverny. It was after moving here in 1883 with his future second wife, Alice Hosched&#233, and their eight children that Monet's work finally achieved recognition. His growing success meant that he was able to indulge his passion for comfort and good living.

Family meals, special celebrations, luncheons with friends, picnics: all reflected the Monets' love of good food. Just as the inspiration for many of Monet's paintings was drawn from his beloved gardens and the surrounding Normandy landscape, so the meals served at Giverny were based upon superb ingredients from the kitchen-garden (a work of art in itself), the farmyard, and the French countryside.

A moody, reserved, and very private man whose daily routine revolved totally around his painting, Monet nevertheless enjoyed entertaining his friends, many of whom were leading figures of the time. As well as his fellow Impressionists -- in particular Renoir, Pissarro, Sisley, Degas and Cézanne -- other regular guests included Rodin, Whistler, Maupassant, Valéry, and one of Monet's closest friends, the statesman Clemenceau.

They came to dine in almost ritual form, first visiting Monet's studio and the greenhouses, then having lunch at 11:30 (the time the family always dined, to enable Monet to make the most of the afternoon light). Tea would later be served under the lime trees or near the pond. Guests were never invited to dinner; because Monet went to bed very early in order to rise at dawn. All the guests were familiar with Monet's rigid timetable.

The recipes collected in his cooking journals include dishes Monet had encountered in his travels or had come across in restaurants he frequented in Paris as well as recipes from friends, such as Cézanne's bouillabaisse and Millet's petits pains.

For this book, the author Claire Joyes, wife of Madame Monet's great-grandson, has spent years selecting the Monets' favorite recipes and writing a wonderfully evocative introductory text. All of the recipes have been artfully prepared and brought back to life in Monet's own kitchen by master chef Joël Robuchon.

Illustrated with sumptuous reproductions of Monet's paintings, spectacular original four-color photographs of Giverny, selected shots of finished dishes, and facsimile pages from the notebooks themselves, this book provides a fascinating and unique insight into the turn-of-the-century lifestyle of one of the world's most celebrated Impressionist painters. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

Monet's Table
Part of a series presenting history, art, everyday habits, surroundings, and meals of French artists like Monet. Very well done with great photos and recipes. Series also covers Cezanne, VanGogh and Renoir.

Monet's recipes & lifestyle
Monet's book of recipes is wonderful!All the recipes are very easy to understand.The book is well written with insight into his lifestyle and with lots of photos.Recommend it highly.

Monet's Table
The book had water damage all along the back upper jacket cover - not disclosed in description of product on Amazon.com
Otherwise the product was to my satisfaction.

Sunday in the Kitchen with Claude
"Monet's Table" is a gorgeous exploration of everyday life in the Impressionist household. While Claude Monet revolutionized art, his cuisine at Giverny incorporated the everyday pleasures of Normandy. There are classic dishes like Coquilles St. Jacques and foie gras, but there are also stuffed onions and broth. Claude Monet even kept cooking journals. This is a discovery for those who have only seen his artwork. (I'd also recommend "Frida's Feasts" about the cuisine of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo) Monet put as much work into his cooking as he did his painting. The kitchen was also his canvas. Bon appetit!

Monet's Table: The Cooking Journals of Claude Monet
This is the most spectacular cook book I have ever seen, splashed with the colours of Monet's house and gardens, garnished with photos of the foods served therein. I wish I had his kitchen stove - it looks as though it provides 24 square feet of cooking surface. Biographical notes put it all into historical and human perspective; and to top it all off ... the recipes. Ah, the recipes, all placed before us in modern terms that make these wondrous foods perfectly doable. After reading 'Monet's Table' and trying out the mussels in herbs, I bought three more copies to send to my closest foodie friends. ... Read more

Product Description
Throughout his life, Claude Monet wrote and spoke about his art. This elegant book pairs spectacular reproductions of some of his most important paintings with his own words to create a uniquely personal look at the work of one of the world s most renowned artists. The poetic text introduces readers to the Impressionists' goal of capturing a fleeting moment and makes this an art book perfect for the young and the young at heart. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Great for Kids of All Ages!
I am using this book and others in the Metropolitan Museum of Art series to introduce wonderful works of art to a small group of Native American children.
They are a perfect source to open their eyes to a world of art they had never before experienced.Highly recommend them! (The adults are loving them too!) ... Read more

Product Description
"Steven" traces Monet's life from his childhood, through his rejection of traditional painting and the development of Impressionism, to his final, settled years in Giverny, sprinkling the report with his own drawings and comments. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Great Introduction to Van Gogh
I am using this book and others in the Smart About Art series to introduce a small group of Native American children to the world of art.These books are great: meets many age levels' needs; excellent selection of works; text that appeals to children.And the adults are enjoying them also!

Great little booklet.
Intend to use this book as part of a teacher's lesson plan.Will be very helpful.

And parents learn, too!
"Claude Monet: Sunshine and Waterlilies" was a terrific book for my 7-year-old daughter. Since it is "written" from the perspective of afifth grade student doing a report on the famous artist, the language was clear, concise, and interesting to a child my daughter's age. I learned from it, too! My daughter couldn't wait to break out her paints and try her hand at an "impressionist" painting of her own! For anyone who wants their child to learn about art, this book --and the whole series of "Smart About Art" books--is a great place to start. Your child--and you, too!--will definately enjoy this book.

Poppies or Waterlilies?
This is one in a series of books about artists for young children about the lives and paintings of these famous oldsters.Written as a report by a fictitious student gives a different aspect and will appeal to school children perhaps; and yet, it contains a biography of Claude Monet (the good and the bad) which appeals to adults, but especially his marvelous paintings are worth the money.

He was very handsome when he went to Paris at the age of 18, but the other painters kidded him with the nickname "Dandy" because he wore ruffled cuffs even though he was just the son of a poor grocer.As a young child in the early school years, he would draw stetches of his teachers and sell them to his classmates.The sketch he drew when he was sixteen looks like something you might see in 'The New Yorker' and is now a part of the expressionist grouping at the Art Institute of Chicago.Some years ago, my son Geoff took me there but that part was closed off for renovation.I told him it didn't matter as there was so much else to look at; as it turns out, the expressionalists are my favorites.Oh well, it was grand just being there.

'The Poppy Field' is one of his most famous, but the people in Knoxville would much prefer 'Water Lilies' because of the purple. By his 83rd birthday, he had finished twenty-two giant paintings of waterlilies. He had his own water gardens as an older man with a bridge (a photo of him standing by with his long white beard); there in his garden at Giverny the flowers were so colorful and plentiful, it could be Longwood Gardens in New Jersey.He and Renoir painted the same scene of a group of party-goers along a frog pond and the canoes pulled up for their use.Renoir's is a close-up though he has one of his trees with long hanging branches, while Monet's is more exact and clear.

He was happily married twice but the deaths took their toll; Camille had been his model for ten years before their marriage and he painted many strange pictures after her death with her face in them.When Alice died, he was so distraught he was unable to paint for some years as his eyesight diminished.In 1923, he endured eye operations and had special glasses to use for resuming his career.

Steven ends his report with "On December 5, 1926, he died (shortly after his 87th birthday).He had been happy, sad, poor and rich.In his life, Monet painted more than 2,000 paintings, which now sell for millions of dollars.They are worth it."

Some of the phrasing is for kids to understand, but the book is so full of information not included in adult biographies it is well worth the time and money to purchase this little treasure. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Well-written, no references, duplicates catalog raisonne
This is a beautifully illustrated review of Monet's life, by one of the major scholars of Monet. It suffers as a scholarly source, however, because there are no citations of where quotes or information was obtained.And buyers beware: this is a reprint of Vol I of the 4 volume catolograisonne--so if you have that set, don't buy it! ... Read more

Product Description
The second in a series of scholarly catalogs on the permanent collections of The Art Institute of Chicago, this volume focuses on the museum's important holdings of French and British paintings of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The catalog contains comprehensive entries on close to one hundred paintings, representing the full range of artistic production (portraiture, landscape, still life, genre, and history painting) in France and Britain during this period. Featured are major works by some of the most significant artists of the time: Jacques Louis David, Jean Honoré Fragonard, Claude Lorrain, Nicolas Poussin, and Jean Antoine Watteau among the French; Henry Fuseli, Thomas Gainsborough, Sir Joshua Reynolds, and Benjamin West among the British.

Each painting in the catalog is accompanied by complete and up-to-date documentation, including a detailed description of physical condition, a fully documented provenance, and a critical discussion of attribution, date, subject, and function, as well as a summary of earlier scholarship. Many of these works are little published and some are published here for the first time. Forty-one works are reproduced in color, the rest in duotone; there are also 101 comparative illustrations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

If you Like Monet make this one of your first books .
Saw this book for less than 4 $ used this is one of the truley great buys on Amazon . Large books10.5 x 13aprox 304 pages severalfold outs one theWaterlillybrings the picture out to 25inches X 4 1/2format makes you want to go see the real one at Musee de I'Orangerie even the architectural drawing of it are in the book .I read this book from cover to cover .I even bought a second copy .
... Read more

Product Description
This volume, one in a series of lavishly illustrated paperback books on major artists and their works, tells the story of Monet. From a look at the artist's life and times, to the historical and social context in which he worked, to an analysis of his masterpieces, this is a vital visual resource with more than 300 superb full-color illustrations. The fact-based text is aimed at the general reader, and makes the series perfect for art-history students and art lovers of all ages. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Monet and his times
This is a highly enjoyable and readable work. It focuses on the work of Monet and provides a wide- range of excellent color reproductions. It also does an outstanding job of presenting the cultural and historical background to Impressionism.
For some reason it does not however tell us about the internal Monet, his thought, his view of the close relationships in his life.
Its strength is its giving a clear and careful illustrated description of Monet's development as an artist. His effort to catch the reality of the moment and to paint the precise colors of the reality he was seeing led to the production of many works of unusual brilliance and originality. Along with Manet, Renoir, Pissarro , Sisley, Morisot he made the world see itself in a more shimmering colorful and bright way.
It is often said that of all movements in Art History it is the work of the Impressionists which are most beloved. Monet was at the center of this revolution in light and color as this fine little volume shows.

Water Lily Heaven
If you are in love with Claude Monet's Water Lily Pond paintings, this is the best book for an explanation as to their origins and where Monet found his inspiration. There is a photograph from 1926 showing the bridge covered with climbing plants.

The Japanese Bridge at Giverny, 1924 is just one of the outstanding paintings in a series of works devoted to the bridge that preoccupied Monet during his final years.

Monet loved his garden at Giverny with such a passion that one could say it bordered on obsession. Harmony in Green, The White Water Lilies, The Water Lily Pond are all explained in detail. There is even a picture of Monet photographed in his beloved garden in 1917.

In every life there is beauty and sadness. The beauty of the water lilies contrasts with the pain Monet felt when he painted Camille on her death bed.

When Monet's wife died, she not only left him without a companion, he then had small children depending on him. He spent most of his meager earnings on his wife's medical treatments and he was also deeply depressed and alone.

This type of revealing information makes him so very human and the paintings then contain a certain depth when these secrets are revealed.

~The Rebecca Review ... Read more

Product Description

Young readers will learn how Claude Monet came to paint trains as well as how he forever changed the minds of critics about his art and about the Impressionists in general. When his nine-year-old son raves over trains passing by in the countryside, Monet wishes his own art could excite critics as much as trains captivate his son. The book explains his painting technique, how critics viewed him and the other Impressionists, and how he came to paint trains.

Jos. A. Smith’s beautiful illustrations are paired with P. I. Maltbie’s comprehensive text to create an inspiring tale of Monet. The book also includes an author’s note, reproductions of some of Monet’s paintings, a time line, a list of North American museums that house Monet’s paintings, a bibliography, and an index.

Customer Reviews (2)

The Monet beyond the water lilies
The name Claude Monet calls to mind many images -- water lilies, Japanese bridges, dappled light on water. Arguably the most famous of the Impressionists, Monet cultivated his technique at a time when such a style was highly unfashionable; critics considered it unrefined compared to the precise, realistic work popular at that time. But //Claude Monet// focuses on a little-known incident that breathes new vibrancy into Monet's biography.

When Monet's friend, the artist Gustave Caillebotte, invites him to be part of a large exhibition in Paris, Monet decides to find a new subject -- something that will appeal to the masses and lead to healthy sales. Recalling his young son's excitement over trains, Monet negotiates with the director of the Saint-Lazare train station to set up his easel on the train platform -- and even delay the trains' departures so he would have ample time to capture the light. His train paintings are a great success.

With detailed watercolor illustrations that hew closely to life in Monet's day, this book provides a brief, lively introduction to a painter who young readers may already have encountered. It is a welcome opportunity to gain insight into the man behind the water lilies.

Reviewed by Margo Orlando Littell

You Can Hear the Trains Rumbling In...
Anyone who has watched a child play with trains, or stood next to a child as they watched a train approaching and the ground tremble, must read this book.Finally the essence of an artist is portrayed beyond the ability to paint.Claude Monet's passion and motivation to paint is found in his beloved son Jean. As you read Claude Monet, The Painter Who Stopped the Trains, you can imagine a loving father sitting and tenderly watching his son as he delights in playing with his trains. You are reminded there are few moments more tender than a parent's watchful eye and when children entertained themselves without electronics."Claude remembered Jean's excitement and worked to put it in his paintings".After reading this book to a former 5th grader who studied Monet in school last year, she expressed that the series of train paintings were not included in the art program.She did not realize that Monet painted more than garden scenes.Lastly, she was touched by Monet's dedication to his son and wife. Perhaps she will more easily recognize and appreciate the same from her parents after reading Claude Monet by P.I. Maltbie. ... Read more

Product Description
Celebrated during his lifetime and deified after his death, Impressionist painter Claude Monet is now a popular figure of near-mythical proportions. This book looks at his life and work. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A rare insight
There are many books that claim to capture the 'real' Monet. However, this book not only captures but explores the true nature of this classical artist. I was lucky enough to have purchased this tome to enchance my artbook collection.If you have an art lover in your home I would stronglysuggest this title.Not only will this enhance your art collection butthis is a great conversation piece if noticed on your coffee table.Ifyour passion for art stirs your soul then this book should be on your wishlist ... Read more

Product Description
Claude Monet (1840-1926) was the most typical and the most individual Impressionist painter. His long life he dedicated to a pictorial exploration of the sensations which reality, and in particular landscape, offer the human eye. But while Monet 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 plein-air 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, with Monet as its creative leader. In his endeavor to capture the ever-changing face of reality, Monet went beyond Impressionism and thereby beyond the confines of self-contained panel painting: in Giverny he painted the Poplars, Grain Stacks and Rouen Cathedral series in which he addressed one motif in constantly new variations. Here, too, Monet laid out the famous garden with its water-lily pond which he was to paint on huge canvases well into the 1920s. He thereby sought to render not reality as objectively experienced, but rather that which takes place "between the motif and the artist".In their open, merely tenuously representational structure and impressive scale, his water lily paintings - created long before the currents of the contemporary avant-garde - point the way to the developments of the future. ... Read more

Product Description
Claude Monet is considered one of the most influential artists of all time. He is a founder of the French Impressionist art movement, and today his paintings sell for millions of dollars. While Monet was alive, however, his work was often criticized and he struggled financially. With over one hundred black-and-white illustrations, this book unveils a true portrait of the artist! ... Read more

Product Description
Monet, the father of French impressionist painting, devoted twenty-five years to a series of paintings of the water lilies that floated in the pond of his lavish garden in Giverny. This volume is dedicated to those paintings, and opens with a biography of Monet that links the artist’s childhood passion for nature and for drawing to his later fascination with light. Monet’s experiments with how to best capture light and its effect on the sky and on water at different times of the day include paintings such as Impression, Sunrise (1872), which inspired the name of the impressionist movement. A critical text analyzes Monet’s ingenuity, audacity, and modernity, as well as his influence on other artists, from Zao Wou-ki to music to Shirley Goldfarb. This definitive catalog is completed by 210 color reproductions of the water lily paintings with annotated captions, period shots of Giverny by photographers such as Cartier-Bresson, and rare documents including Monet’s personal letters to his optometrist regarding his failing eyesight, which has been linked to his development of the impressionist style. The large-format volume features an eight-page gatefold of the murals at the Orangerie in Paris, and it serves as both an accessible introductory work and a complete reference guide to an important component in the history of art. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Monet Waterlillies
This is a beautifully illustrated book and full of great information about the Waterlilly series of paintings.A fantastic coffee table book.

Monet: Water Lilies: The Complete Series
THis is a beautiful inspiring book for all artists and lovers of beauty. A must for every library! ... Read more

Product Description
Claude Monet (1840-1926) devoted the last 25 years of his career to paintings of the Japanese-style pond and gardens of his house in Giverny, France. Two of these luminous panels--Water Lilies (1914-26), a mural-sized triptych, and Water Lilies (1914-26), a single canvas--are among the most beloved works in the collection of The Museum of Modern Art. The aim of these paintings, according to the artist, was to supply "the illusion of an endless whole, of water without horizon or bank." These late works were for many years less appreciated than Monet's classic Impressionist works, oftentimes seen as unstructured, even unfinished. But with the emergence of Abstract Expressionism in the 1950s, Monet became an extraordinarily relevant predecessor. In 1955, The Museum of Modern Art became the first public collection in the United States to acquire one of Monet's large-scale water lily compositions. This lively volume recounts the history of Monet's Water Lilies at the Museum--including the destruction of two works in a fire in 1958--and underscores the resonance of these paintings with the art and artists of the last half-century. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Any with a love for art or art history would do well to check out "Water Lilies"
The best of one's fame often comes when you can no longer claim it. "Water Lilies" is a collection of artwork from now acclaimed artist Claude Monet, with text from Ann Temkin and Nora Lawrence explaining the importance of his work. A painter who did Abstract Expressionism decades before it caught on, Monet's work has influenced generations. Any with a love for art or art history would do well to check out "Water Lilies". ... Read more

Product Description
In celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the first publication of Monet's Passion: Ideas, Inspiration, and Insights from the Painter's Gardens, this completely revised edition of Elizabeth Murray's best-selling book offers new text, new images, and new garden plans based on Claude Monet's spectacular gardens at Giverny.

A professional gardener and artist, Murray helped to restore the Giverny gardens in the 1980s and has since enjoyed privileged access to the site, where she returns annually to capture Monet's passion at its most radiant and riotous. In this redesigned, updated edition, Murray discusses the development and history of Monet's Giverny estate and brings new insight to Monet s approach to gardening and design. Emphasizing his keen understanding of color balance and his genius for maximizing the effects of light, Murray explores the favorite color combinations and techniques with which Monet experimented in both painting and gardening--each pursuit informing the other. Murray's lush photographs chronicle the present-day gardens, and a section titled 'Bringing Giverny Home' provides detailed Giverny-based garden plans that can be applied anywhere. Full-color illustrations of the gardens, a list of the plants originally used by Monet, and a plant cultivation section round out this immensely helpful guide to creating year-round beauty in one's own backyard.

140 pages with over 75 color photographs, along with color garden plans, transparent overlays for garden designs, and historical photographs. Size: 8.75 x 8.75 inches. Smyth-sewn casebound book with ribbon marker and jacket. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (31)

A Profusion of Delight
If art is the apprehension of truth through feeling, you'll feel great about this book.Elizabeth Murray has created and presented a volume of deliciously layered truth and beauty, pleasing the mind, the eye and the soul.As a semi-colorblind suburban dude who likes to mow his lawn and putter a bit in the garden, I'm not usually drawn to books of this kind.But here you have Claude Monet revealed and celebrated by a talented author/photographer who is an accomplished artist/gardener in her own right.Tres magnifique!It's a feast of precise, elegant language.Each sentence is a gem and the photo captions were obviously written with great love and care.She writes about color so a blind eye can possess it.You'll learn all about the ups and downs of Monet's life, the development of his sensibilities, and how he discovered and delighted in his beloved Giverny home.You'll read exquisite descriptions of how Monet planned the gardens, the colors, the textures, the timingto best reflect the seasons and the varying light.Fascinating details like which petals best allow the light through.The photographs are jaw-dropping.You could sit on your deck for hours marveling at them while your little johnny jumpups hang out in their planter.I read the book a little at a time to savor it.Here's Monet in his yellow kitchen.Here's a drawing of his lily pond showing how he diverted water from the nearby river to sustain it.Elizabeth provides detailed renderings of the bones of the garden, the trellises, the arbors, with overlays showing how they'll look in full bloom.The flowers, plants and trees are all labeled so you can see what's what.She has really piled on the value here, as the back of the book contains lots of detailed, interesting and useful supplemental material.It's a very satisfying tome to linger with and enjoy. Plus, I like the sheer weight and texture of the book - it feels good and substantial in my hands.The golden cloth bookmark is another cool touch.(Or is it green?)I poked around Elizabeth's amazing web site too, and highly recommend a browse. There are videos of her speaking about her art and her life, including a very touching one whereinshe tears up talking about exposing kids to art and nature.You'll apprehend this book - it's a beut, and so is Liz, and that's the truth.

This book delivers what it promises
Elizabeth Murray's book, "Monet's Passion:Ideas, Inspiration and Insights" is a treasure that will surely cause
dreams of being there in the painter's garden to any who get their hands on it.The exquisite photographs in this twentieth
anniversary edition (Murray's own!) let one see the gardens as they exist today, changed with the years but still true to the painter's
original genius.As a professional gardener and gifted artist who was privileged to live and work at Giverny in the '80s, Murray
has brought to this work her own genuine love of the gardens. Her knowledge of plantings within the garden is apparent by the
detailed descriptions in the text and her own sensitive drawings are a delight in themselves.What Murray brings to this
book is something truly unique which I believe could only come through personal experience over years within the gardens.All that
is promised in the title:ideas, inspiration and insights, is there page after page.

Monet's Passion is Elizabeth Murray's Passion
Elizabeth Murray's 20th anniversary edition of Monet's Passion is a beautifully illustarted visit to Monet's famous garden in Giverny, France. Murray is an educated insider for she helped restore the gardens in the 1980's. Her photography is lush and lovely and makes you feel as if you have the entire garden to yourself. The "Bringing Giverny Home" section helps identify the plant combinations Monet used and makes it easy to install these combinations in your own garden.

A work of art!
Elizabeth Murray is able to inspire all of us - even the novice gardeners - through her ability to share her expertise, illustrations, and amazing photographs of Monet's garden.She is able to delight the reader again and again with each page.Murray's book is a work of art!!

A Beautiful Walk
I have not visited Monet's Garden and would love to one day.With this book I felt as if I got a lovely sense of Monet's place of inspiration.I was inspired by Elizabeth Murray's beautiful book, the photographs, the stories of Monet, and the journey through
the elements of his garden.It was a wonderful way to travel to Giverny without having to leave home. ... Read more

Product Description
Sometimes he dreamt he held her; that he would turn in bed and she would be there. But she was gone and he was old. Nearly seventy. Only cool paint met his fingers. “Ma très chère . . .” Darkness started to fall, dimming the paintings. He felt the crumpled letter in his pocket. “I loved you so,” he said. “I never would have had it turn out as it did. You were with all of us when we began, you gave us courage. These gardens at Giverny are for you but I’m old and you’re forever young and will never see them. . . .”
 
In the mid-nineteenth century, a young man named Claude Monet decided that he would rather endure a difficult life painting landscapes than take over his father’s nautical supplies business in a French seaside town. Against his father’s will, and with nothing but a dream and an insatiable urge to create a new style of art that repudiated the Classical Realism of the time, he set off for Paris.
 
But once there he is confronted with obstacles: an art world that refused to validate his style, extreme poverty, and a war that led him away from his home and friends. But there were bright spots as well: his deep, enduring friendships with men named Renoir, Cézanne, Pissarro, Manet – a group that together would come to be known as the Impressionists, and that supported each other through the difficult years. But even more illuminating was his lifelong love, Camille Doncieux, a beautiful, upper-class Parisian girl who threw away her privileged life to be by the side of the defiant painter and embrace the lively Bohemian life of their time.
 
His muse, his best friend, his passionate lover, and the mother to his two children, Camille stayed with Monet—and believed in his work—even as they lived in wretched rooms, were sometimes kicked out of those, and often suffered the indignities of destitution. She comforted him during his frequent emotional torments, even when he would leave her for long periods to go off on his own to paint in the countryside.
 
But Camille had her own demons – secrets that  Monet could never penetrate, including one that when eventually revealed would pain him so deeply that he would never fully recover from its impact. For though Camille never once stopped loving the painter with her entire being, she was not immune to the loneliness that often came with being his partner.
 
A vividly-rendered portrait of both the rise of Impressionism and of the artist at the center of the movement, Claude and Camille is above all a love story of the highest romantic order. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (59)

The Artist and The Muse
This was a sweet story of love and pain. Many times I have trouble "getting into" the rhythm of a story, especially when an author imagines how two well known people would have interacted. For that reason, I did not like the Frank Lloyd Wright romantic novel that is so popular currently.

The relationship Stephanie Cowell created between Claude and Camille felt very natural and very real, from the very first conversation. I felt like I was there in the room, watching Claude court Camille, watching Camille break away from her family and take the courageous leap it required to leave her luxurious safe life behind for the life of a indigent artist's wife.

Towards the middle of the book,it drags a bit and then it is like the author got her 2nd wind and comes to a dramatic, wrenching finish.

Lastly, I was extremely fortunate in that just as I was finishing the book, I was able to see the Impressionist Exhibit in San Francisco. There was one painting of Monet's his friends at the exhibit, a picture that I understand rarely leaves its home museum, where "everyone" was there - Bazille, Renoir, Pissarro, Degas et al. It was as if I had stepped into the book when I was standing in front of that painting.

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to a friend or a bookclub.

Claude and Camille
I absolutely loved the book "Claude and Camille".Once I started reading it, I could not put it down.What a wonderful novel of this talented artist and his many struggles to gain recognition for his artwork while trying to maintain his relationship with Cammille, his true love. I would recommend it to anyone, especially if you are a Monet fan.You also get a glimpse into the lives of other great painters such as Boudin, Renoir, Bazille, Pissarro, Glyere, and Manet.I followed the story along with another book I have titled "Monet" by Vanessa Potts that is filled with Monet's paintings.It has the self portrait of Monet and many of his companion Camille.It is a 253 page book of his art work with an accompanying page with a story that narrates each painting.

both enjoyable and frustrating
I first learned about Claude Monet and his fellow Impressionists in my high school French classes, and I was immediately entranced with his work above everyone else's. I didn't learn much about Claude the person vs. Claude the painter and the paintings themselves. So I was eager to read this book, about his life, his muse, his love and his struggles.

Because the book is a novel and Cowell has taken numerous liberties with the truth, it is impossible to know without doing further research on your own what was real and what wasn't in this wonderfully written narrative. And that's what frustrated me about this book: I wanted to know about Claude and how his life and career developed, but I don't feel I have even remotely an accurate picture of that after reading Claude and Camille. Cowell confesses to certain events being false or significantly exaggerated, and I found that to be a real let-down after becoming so absorbed in the story that I couldn't put the book down. So it has inspired me to dig deeper, but I wish in her historical notes she'd clarified more points than she did. In that way, she's done a disservice to the reader who wants to learn more about Monet in an enjoyable way (i.e. instead of reading a dry text), but fans of historical fiction who don't care what's true, as long as the story is compelling and well-written (which it is) will love this book without any further thought given to the matter.

From how she's depicted, Camille was mysterious and complicated, and she inspired, excited and frustrated Claude. The book depicts their relationship essentially as a tug of war, with each fervently devoted to the other while still managing to occasionally push the other away, only to pull each other back passionately. Camille has given up her life of privilege for a life "of adventure" with Claude, only it's more of an adventure than she bargained for, and they both struggle with their poverty and frequent setbacks and physical moves. At some times they seem utterly devoted to each other, but the falsified lapses in devotion call that into question.

While I was intrigued and drawn in by his love story with Camille, it was not nearly as fascinating as his close relationships with fellow struggling artists Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, and especially his best friend Frédéric Bazille. These brilliant, talented men were at the beginning of a new art movement they were creating themselves, and their undying support of each other, especially for Claude, is inspiring and beautiful. As Camille supposedly said, "One for all and all for one" -- a sentiment they regularly displayed throughout their early years and well into their careers. My favorite scenes in the book are those in which these young artists randomly gather, sleep, eat and paint in the studio rented by Bazille (one of Claude's greater benefactors, as he comes from money and is willing to share it to help support Claude, who is fighting his father for any kind of support). How incredible it would have been to be a fly on the wall as these men were developing their craft! I had never heard of Bazille but now want to learn more about him as well.

In the end, I found the book very enjoyable...it pulled me in emotionally and intellectually and was very satisfying in that regard. But it left me feeling incomplete and wondering what was actually true, and frustrated that I now need to go do my own homework to learn the real story, as much as what can be learned (there apparently is very little trace of Camille, with no letters from or to her ever found, despite the plethora included in the narrative). I also would have liked to see reproductions of the paintings that are referenced in the book. I have begun to look them up online myself.

Cowell is truly a gifted writer and she really brought the characters and the scenes to life. If you can get past the fiction aspect of it and just enjoy the story, you will love this book!

passion and art
The Impressionists are known as a group of painters who went against the wind, and their use of color and specific techniques was very different from what was considered top-notch art by specialists at in the second half of nineteenth century.
One of the most beloved painters of that group was Claude Monet, whose paintings are recognized even by those who are not too interested in art, and are reproduced in millions of calendars and poster all over the world.

"Claude and Camille" by Stephanie Cowell is a story of young Claude Monet and his love and muse, Camille Doncieux, who appeared in Monet's famous paintings. The author did a lot of research and presented Monet's struggle against poverty and will to live for his art with accuracy. At the same time, she also admitted that there is not much information about his relationship with Camille, and about Camille herself, so the romance part of the novel is highly imaginary.

The novel begins with Claude as an old, lonely man, painting his water lilies at Giverny (apparently he painted 250 pictures of water lilies!), and writing letters to Annette, Camille's sister. Then, the time shifts to the his beginnings as an amateur caricaturist in Le Havre, his travel and studies in Paris with his friends: Renoir, Pissarro, and Bazille, meeting Camille, and their life together, full of secrets and suspicions, but also love and passion.

I liked "Claude and Camille", probably because of the subject matter, which is interesting for me. The language was sometimes strikingly awkward and the prose was not flowing seamlessly, but seemed angular, rough, a little difficult to read. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable book.

France, Art, Claude Monet...what more could you want from historical fiction?
"Sometimes he dreamt he held her; that he would turn in bed and she would be there. But she was gone, and he was old...."

This is one of the most powerful lines in this novel, and one of my favorites, right at the beginning, as an elderly Claude Monet remembers his first wife, his love, his muse, the beautiful but fragile Camille.

They met when he was a young painter, impoverished, full of hope and dreams and possessing fantastic friends, who are also fellow artists. But Claude had no money and little support from the father who had expected his son to take over the family business.

Camille came from a sheltered and well off family who were appalled when she took up with an artist, lived with him and had a child before they were even married. Her family cut her off and Claude was never able to provide for her in the way that she was accustomed to, try as he might. And he did try, but his art was a harsh taskmaster and they gave up much so that he could devote his time and energy to painting.

Claude's close circle of artist friends encompassed all those who would become known as the Impressionists: Aususte Renoir, Frederic Bazille, Camille Pissarro, Edouard Manet. They were all very close and this novel does a brilliant job of bringing them all to life, so you feel the comradeship, hunger, suffering and joy of their early days in Paris.

Eventually, the strain of their haphazard existence began to tell on Camille, revealing tendencies toward depression and melancholy that had first appeared in her childhood. Though she and Claude truly loved each other, they struggle in their lives together. Again and again, they are saved by their caring friends.

This is a brilliant historical novel, clearly written by an author that has a deep appreciation and understanding of art in general and impressionism in particular. I know nothing at all about art but came away from this book with such admiration for those that can look at a scene and see the play of light and color...and be able to translate that to canvas. An utterly breathtaking book, I loved it and highly recommend it! ... Read more

Product Description
French Impressionist painter Claude Monet (1840-1926) strove to capture the shifting effects of light on his subjects. He eventually worked on several canvases in the field simultaneously, moving his attention from one to another as the angle of illumination changed throughout the day. His painstaking efforts produced works of utter calm. The twelve images in this calendar hail from the superb collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and include such icons as Rouen Cathedral, Façade; La Japonaise (Camille Monet in Japanese Costume); Poppy Field in a Hollow near Giverny; and Grand Canal, Venice.

Published with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Size: 12 x 13 in.; opens to 12 x 26 in. Printed on FSC certified paper with soy-based ink. ... Read more