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A detailed introduction to Claude Monet in his time for young students
The Artists in Their Time series explores some of the most influential artist of the 20th century.The goal is to discuss the work of each artist in relation to not only their life but also what was happening in the world around them at the time.Here Susie Hodge looks at Claude Monet, one of the greatest artists of all time whose work is so popular it adorns thousands of items from cookie tins and mouse pads to tablecloths.I have also seen some of his famous paintings of water lilies reproduced as wall murals that you can use to decorate your home (and do not think that I have not thought of decorating a master bedroom suite around such a mural, other paintings of Monet, and as close to his particular shade of blue as I can get for painting the walls).

Hodge breaks down Monet's life into a series of distinct periods (e.g, First Success, Monte's Garden), within which she highlights key elements (e.g., money problems, portable paints).Sidebars are devoted to other key points (e.g., Monet's Eyesight, The Influence of Japan).Usually on the bottom left of each two-page spread you will find a Timeline that traces key events in Monet's life (the entire Timeline is repeated in the back of the book).In addition to covering the biographical details of Monet's life, the emphasis is on the evolution of his art and the birth of Impressionism.Since the name of the movement was coined by the critic Louis Leroy in his insulting article "Exhibition of Impressionists" after seeing Monet's "Impression, Sunrise," Monet was going to be an important figure in the history of the Impressionists on that basis alone.But then the rest of his paintings would help make him the paradigmatic Impressionist artist.Certainly he holds that position for me.

The book is amply illustrated and you have to get to the final pages on Monet's life before you will not find three illustrations on each two-page spread.A dozen of Monet's paintings, including "Impression, Sunrise" and "Interior of the Gare Saint-Lazare," are reproduced on right-hand pages, along with comments on the paintings and often a quote from Monet.Two other Monet paintings are reproduced in smaller fashion and Hodge makes an effort to show the works of artists from whom Monet learned to paint (e.g., Eugene Boudin's "Evening, Le Havre"), those of his friends (e.g., "Self-portrait" by Camille Pissarro), and those who came after him that were inspired by Monet's art (e.g., Vincent van Gogh's "Irises").Other paintings reflect such events as the Franco-Prussian War and Exposition Universelle of 1889.There are also photographs reflecting the times, although the ones that I found most interesting attempted to show what some of the thing Monet painted in his Impressionist works "really" looked like.One of the interesting aspects of the book are the various paintings of Monet himself done by other artists, from Charles-Maire Lhuillier and Edouard Manet to Auguste Renoir, Gustave Caillebotte and John Singer Sargent.

The only real complaint is that when Hodge talks the twenty-five paintings that Monet did of the haystacks in a field neat his house in Giverny, there is only one example, "Haystacks at the End of Summer, Morning."Since I have seen several of the paintings in the series at the Art Institute of Chicago, it would be nice to have seen more than one example here so that instead of talking about how Monet painted them at different times, from different angels, and different colors and lights, you could see more of the paintings to evidence the point.But the book does live up to its goal of presenting the artist in his time, and there are plenty of other books for young readers to turn to for more about Monet after they have enjoyed this splendid introduction.Other titles in this series include looks at Salvador Dali, Alberto Giacometti, Paul Klee, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, and Andy Warhol. ... Read more

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Big art for little hands, these enchanting activity books allow young artists to explore the world’s masterpieces on their own terms and with plenty of space to color outside the lines. ... Read more

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do not buy this book
It is a few black outlines that you could do with tracing paper.A major disappointment. --awful ... Read more

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Claude Monet (1840-1926) spent most of his career painting his own spontaneous impression of nature. He gave the title of Impressionism to the school of art he created together with Manet, Renoir, Pissaro, Caillebotte and Sisley. Today, Claude Monet belongs to the classic painters of all times: not only was he the most important of the impressionists, he is undoubtedly one of the greatest of his profession. Paul Cézanne paid him the most telling compliment: 'Monet is an eye, the most wonderful eye since there have been artists.' The man Monet, however, has remained hidden behind the work of the artist, despite the fact that the man left numerous autobiographical notes about himself, which together with other contemporary sources, paint the picture of a strong yet contradictory character. Monet united in himself many admirable but also less pleasant features: He could be at the same time depressed and euphoric, stingy and extravagant,opportunistic and unyielding, obstinate and compromising, selfish and utterly selfless. After the young artist had ambitiously planned his career, fame - when it eventually came - did not mean that much to him. The well-documented history of Impressionism will not be re-drawn here. It is the man and the artist Monet who will be critically portrayed and who will become more tangible and real to the reader. This new biography sheds light on the man and places him in context as a sensitive artist of his time. ... Read more

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A monograph spanning Monet's entire career: from early works completed in the Forest at Fontainebleau, through his mature landscapes and Thames paintings to the near abstract later works at Giverny. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Full of pictures
I just bought this book as a gift for one of my teachers.It is an excellant book.It has great pictures and backgrounds on all of Monet's work.Makes a terrific gift for art lovers. ... Read more

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Monet is one of the leading figures of the Impressionist group of painters that came to the fore in France in the second half of the nineteenth century. This project is aimed at established fans and for those wishing to learn about him for the first time. With the inclusion of facsimiles of some 30 documents from Claude Monet's personal papers and associated archives, "Musee Marmottan's Treasures of Monet" offers a unique insight into his life and works - from his childhood and youth in Le Havre to his study of art in Paris, growth as a painter and development of a style that made him one of the most sought-after artists of his day and in subsequent years. ... Read more

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Monet magic
This must be the most interesting book about Claude Monet's life that is available on the market. It is full of copies of documents relating to events in his life, as well as wonderful information and photos of his works, as well as of his contemporaries.Beautifully put together, a collectors item!The Treasures of Monet (Musee Marmottan Monet, Paris)

"Monet Is Only An Eye, But My God What An Eye!"
"Monet is an Impressionist par excellence." ~ Thèodore Duret ~

Author Michael Howard, a Senior Lecturer in History of Art and Design at the Manchester Metropolitan University, is one of the leading and most prolific writers of art books. Some of his works include books about the masterworks of Paul Gauguin, Edgar Degas, Francisco Goya as well as articles on art newspapers and publications. Likewise, he served as a curator of many art exhibitions in Manchester.

Claude Monet was one of the Impressionist painters who truly impressed me with his work particularly paintings of landscape of his native land, romantic seascapes and the cities of Paris and Venice. His paintings are very impressive and eye-catching marked by delicate colors, balance and harmony. He was a well-traveled artist, a connoisseur of wine and food, a lover of true nature, and in spite of being hailed as the leader of the Impressionist movement and one of the world's well-loved and most popular painters, he was not fully contented with his remarkable achievements. Many emerging artists after the World War II such as Jackson Pollack singled him out as an influence and a model to imitate.

Printed in 2007, this 88-page-hardcover, "The Treasures of Monet" will take art lovers to a beautiful journey into the life and works of Monet, a great artist. It includes facsimile memorabilia such as drawings, paintings, sketch books, personal documents, handwritten notes and letters that represent the most significant events in his life. These were reproduced from the original material that the artist's youngest son, Michel Monet, bestowed to the Musèe Marmottan Monet in Paris in 1966.

Some of the reproduced copies found in this beautiful book include his baptism registration which took place at the Church of Notre Dame de Lorrette in Paris on May 21, 1984; the registration of his marriage to Alice Hoschedè in 1892; and one of his preparatory drawings of cliffs on the Normandy coast, which was a constant destination for him to study the effects of the light on water.

My favorites from his masterworks found in this book include "Women In The Garden," "Water Lilies," "Palazzo Dario in Venice," "Rio de Santa Salute," "The Road to Chailly" and "View of the Tuileries."

The plaque on the tomb where he lies next to his wife, Alice, is written in French and translates as...

"Here lies our good friend
Claude Monet
Born 14 November 1840
Died 5 December 1926
Missed by everyone"

For art lovers who appreciate the works of Monet, I wholeheartedly recommend this book. It is a welcome addition to your art book collection and also an ideal gift to someone who shares your love for this art form.

"Monet is only an eye, but my God what an eye." ~ Paul Cèzanne ~

... Read more

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First invited by Pierre-Auguste Renoir to the Italian Riviera in 1883, Monet over the next decades crafted several magnificent series of works, remarkably different from the paintings that hadestablished his reputation in the North.Here, assembled for the first time in its entirety, is the audaciously colorful group of works that he executed on the Italian and French Rivieras in 1884 and 1888, and in Venice in 1908.Arresting in their stunning color, dazzling light effects, and the sheer beauty of the land and the sea they depict, these paintings address in a new language the artist's ability to stretch his own pictorial boundaries.

Now available in paperback, this new look at Monet accompanied the highly successful exhibition at the Kimbell Art Museum and the Brooklyn Museum in 1997.

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Customer Reviews (2)

A Monet Treasurehouse - Gorgeous Color Plates!
Claude Monet's fascination with the Mediterranean began in December 1883, when Pierre-Auguste Renoir invited him on a trip to the Riviera. En route to the sea they visited Paul Cézanne in L'Estaque. By the time they reached Monaco, their first Mediterranean stop, Monet was completely enchanted by the warm southern climate, its lush, exotic vegetation, and the extraordinary quality of light. He was to return again and again to the southern coasts of France and Italy to paint some of his most superb work.

"Monet And The Mediterranean" unites over 100 paintings created during the course of three major trips Monet made to the Mediterranean from 1883 to 1908. The sheer beauty of the nature these works depict is breathtaking, as are the luminescent colors of his palette and dazzling light effects. The artist's use of light is frequently dramatic, as he often painted scenes at sunrise, midday and sunset.

Joachim Pisarro has brilliantly communicated, through this text, his deep love for painting and art history. He has combined and provided here a biography, history, and critical interpretation that allowed me to view some of my favorite paintings as if for the first time. This volume features over 100 color plates, with introductory commentaries for each series or group of paintings. The artist's love of the region and its light is evident in his work - from olive and citrus trees in the Italian fishing village of Bordighera to the vast seas and skies of Cap Martin and Cap d'Antibes to the shadowy canals and golden Ducal Palace of Venice. The Mediterranean was, perhaps, Monet's greatest muse, providing him with a climate, light and color that possessed him with what curator Joachim Pissarro calls an "ineluctable need to paint."

A real treasure of a book! Makes a wonderful gift!
JANA

SPELLBINDING VISUAL EXCITEMENT
The artist's rainbow palette and his self-imposed task of "painting light" are vividly presented in Monet and the Mediterranean by Joachim Pisarro.Focusing on Monet's work during his three stays on the southern coasts of France and Italy, this exhibition catalogue showcases paintings executed under the most extreme effects of light.

Grandson of Camille Pisarro and a noted art historian, Joachim Pisarro writes, "Monet's decision to paint by the Mediterranean in 1884 was bound to an inner strategy: his art was a constant search for shatteringly new pictorial motifs."

We are not disappointed, the lushly overgrown vegetation and brilliant sun in his landscapes provides spellbinding visualexcitement.

"What is astonishing about Monet's work in the south is the degree of elasticity, of pictorial metamorphosis, and of technical virtuosity it required from the artist." Mr. Pisarro said."A century after these paintings were produced, their impact remains undiminished."

An insightful biography and history, Monet and the Mediterranean holds 120 striking color plates. ... Read more

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One of the youngest members in the school of French Impressionism, Claude Monet continued to pursue the Impressionistic style after other Impressionist artists had dispersed as a group. The most famous of Monet's works were inspired by his large gardens at his home in rural Giverny. A Barron's Great Artist Series title. Full-color illus.Amazon.com Review
David Spence packs a good deal of fascinating information intothis small book on Claude Monet; it is ideal for teenagers interestedin art history.The sections cover such diverse topics as Monet'slife with his family and friends; his education under the seascapepainter Eugene Boudin; the confusion over the names of Monet andEduard Manet; the horrified reactions of critics to Monet's paintingImpression: Sunrise, which gave the impressionists their name;and even the development of "portable" paint in tubes, whichenabled artists to work more easily in the open air. Although smallerthan the Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness books, Monet andImpressionism, along with the other titles in Barron's GreatArtists series, is designed with the same inclusiveness. There arefive or more images on any two-page spread. One telling but smallphoto of a Monet painting shows beach sand stuck in the impasto wherethe wind blew it; others show Paris in the 1880s, or Monet in hisstudio with the enormous canvasses depicting water lilies. There arereproductions, albeit quite small, of Monet's lush, sun-dappledlandscapes, picnics, and portraits.Spence's text is entertaining butmay be too frank for some tastes: "It may have been during thistime, when Monet and Hoschede's wife Alice spent many an eveningtogether, that they became lovers..." But the portrait he givesof this widely loved painter is vivid, and remarkably complete for abook of this size--just 32 pages. --Peggy Moorman ... Read more

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Windswept skies, towering poplars, vertiginous cliffs, majestic cityscapes, Claude Monet captured in luminous paint the fleeting moments that make up these images of landscape.In so doing, he conveyed the vitality of nature and the elements. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

every monet lover should own this book
fantastic background information on both Monet's life from his own letters as well as contemporary photographs of the landscapes that Monet painted so that one can see what he saw.
If you have ever wanted to travel to the cliffs and beaches of Normandy but cannot go there it is a thrilling visit though the pages of this book.
I am so glad I got it
BTW Monet was quite passionate in his letters, really gives one a better sense of the person as well as learning more about the painter in his own words.

A Beautiful and Very Informative Adjunct to theMonet Library
Monet's evocative landscapes with their lush and subtle colors, thrilling use of light from various times of the day and the seasons, and varied locations of vantage have rarely been so beautifully presented as in this small but elegant book by Vivian Russell.

Russell has visited many of the sites Monet painted and took photographs not only of the particular subject of his paintings, but also of the surrounding countryside, a fact that adds flavor of place to what must have inspired Monet. Not only does she include the coasts of France and Giverny, Monet's home and famous gardens, but she also traveled to Venice (some of Monet's most ethereal works are from this special haven), Norway, the flower fields of Holland, and the majesty of London.

The photographs are superb and offer interesting information on what Monet decided to edit or to enrich with the impressionist's eye.Russell is a fine writer and her comments and sensitivity to include much information from Monet's letters makes this book not only a perfect coffee table tome, but also a fine adjunct to art students and collectors alike.Highly Recommended!Grady Harp, August 05 ... Read more

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Claude Monet was as meticulous in the decoration his family home at Giverny as he was about the planting of its world-famous garden. Monet's home has been fully restored and decorated according to his revolutionary views on color and light.This book is an to visit the house on a summer's day in the 1890s to marvel at Monet's decorative vision,Amazon.com Review
Not only was Claude Monet (1840-1926) a leading member of theimpressionist movement, he was also, as this charming book reveals, amaster interior decorator. A virtual room-by-room guided tour ofMonet's beautiful and much-visited home at Giverny, this volume offersa vivid impression of daily life in the beloved house where the artistlived for 40 years with his second wife and their eight children. Withits pink stucco walls, green shutters, and brightly painted originalfurniture, the house reveals Monet's brilliance and innovation as acolorist, which transcended his light-infused canvases to inform hischoice of hues for wall paint and furniture. Each room is explored inits own chapter with glorious color photos: the dining room, paintedin two shades of yellow and adorned with Japanese prints; theblue-and-white-tiled kitchen; the blue drawing room; the studio as itappeared in its heyday. Enlarged paint swatches of Monet's uniquecolor combinations accompany each chapter so that readers canreproduce them in their own homes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

A Decorator's Delight
This is a superbly photographed book of a lovely, intimate home created by Claude Monet, one of the masters of impressionism whose artistic sensibility clearly spilled over into many aspects of his life, namely, the creation of his living space.His use of color has a surprisingly modern feel.From the lush blooms of the garden and the subtle pastel tones of green, blue, and violet of his wife's bedroom to the vibrant blues of the kitchen tiles and bright yellows of the dining area, all help make this book a delight for anyone who appreciates design, color and texture.He deftly uses many different color hues to create a warm, comfortable living space that many today might love to emulate.Although I have yet to see Giverny, I am aching to visit this remarkable home for myself. Until that time, I will content myself with paging through this lovely book.

Monet's House
The book arrived within a reasonable time frame and condition was like new.I'm very pleased with the book and the vendor.

Monet's House makes me want to go back and see the house again
I have toured Monet's home and garden two different times and wanted to read a book that told about the different things that made the home special.This book did that and even makes me want to go back and tour the home again now that I know how much input Monet had in the decorating of the home.

books about Monet
Lovely book It is an inspiration.The seller was a dear.I made a typo on my address and it went back to the seller.She contacted me immediatly by e-mail and re shippped it to me.I offered to pay for my error but the seller would not take a penny.I am very happy with this purchase.

great service
I ordered the copy of Monets house and inadvertently entered the wrong address.The shipper kept me updated and sent me the book as soon as the post office returned it to them.I was very impressed with the service of the bookseller. ... Read more

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Secrets of Monet's Garden
So wonderfully photographed, well researched, and spell binding that I bought several more of Derek Fell's books immediately. This book inspired me to create a replica of the Grande Alle for my own front entrance.

Extraordinarily beautiful full of ideas and information.
I am so pleased with the purchase of this book.The photography is wonderful, the text is well written.I can't wait for next spring to arrive so I can try some of Monet's ideas. ... Read more

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An extraordinary new look at the world's most beloved Impressionist, this catalogue examines some of the artist's most important paintings, including the famed Giverny canvases, the iconic haystacks, and the Rouen cathedral series. Many rarely seen works are also featured and illustrate Monet's enduring ties to the Norman region. It was in Normandy that Monet began his painting career, and it was there that he met his first great mentor, Eugène Boudin. Monet developed a deep affection for the region. He would return time after time to depict its dramatic coastline, picturesque villages, and seaside resorts. Normandy has been a source of inspiration for artists over the centuries, and the catalogue puts Monet's work in context with those who came before—Corot, Millet, Courbet, Whistler, and Boudin—and his fellow revolutionaries—Morisot, Pissarro, Renoir, Degas.Featuring more than sixty master works, Monet in Normandy marks one of the largest Impressionist exhibitions to be on view in the United States. Illuminating the essays are works by other great contemporaries such as Pissarro, Morisot, and Degas. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Well done!
Dr. Brettell writes with clarity and specifics.Lots of information
I haven't found in other books. His articles are divided into subtitles so it's easy to complete a section if your time is limited. Illustrations are well referenced.

EXHIBIT IN A BOOK...
I had the good fortune to see this exhibit when it traveled.I don't usually like to listen to the commentary on a headset, but I did so this time, and it really enhanced the experience.Looking through the book 3 months later, all that I heard came back to me as I recaptured the good feelings that come from all this beauty in one volume.It is organized nicely and a "must" for a coffee table book in the home of impressionist fans.

Wonderful book-great exhibit
I was able to see the Monet in Normandy exhibit in Cleveland, and for any Monet lover, it was fantastic. This companion book has beautifully done reproductions of all of the paintings in full color. The text associated with each painting is very interesting, and even though I have read many books about Monet, there is quite a bit of new information provided.
This book is the next best thing to being in the museum, seeing the paintings in person.

a little gem of a book
For those of us who were not able to travel to see the exhibition, this is a wonderful catalogue which shows many of Monet's best canvases of Normandy (haystacks, the Rouen cathedral, the Coast...). Each of the paintings is very well described with a complete listing of its provenance. Top-quality illustrations make this book a valuable addition to the already extensive literature on Monet. ... Read more

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