Monet: His Life and Works in 500 Images

By Susie Hodge

Book Overview

- An expert and detailed account of the painter Claude Monet, one of the key founders of the Impressionist movement and arguably the most influential painter of modern times

- An insightful biography tells the story of his life, the historical context of society at the time, and his relationships with Renoir, Sisley and Manet

- Features a beautiful gallery of all Claude Monet's most significant works accompanied by in-depth analysis of his style and technique, stunningly illustrated with 500 beautiful images

- Explores his relationship with the traditional art world and his courageous rejection of it, choosing to establish a new form of art

The first half of this impressive book is a review of the life of Claude Monet and the development of his talents. It follows his early experiences and artistic education, as well as his personal life, financial difficulties and marriages, shedding light on why Monet became the painter he did. The second half is a gallery of more than 300 of his works with analysis of each painting. Paintings are reproduced from all phases of his career, including when he lived at Argenteuil, where some of the most famous impressionist works were created. This extraordinary book is an essential volume for anyone wanting to learn more about this fascinating and ground-breaking artist, and to study his greatest works in one beautiful collection.

About the Author:

Susie Hodge has an MA in the History of Art by Research from the University of London. She has taught part-time for 15 years in secondary, further and higher education on subjects including Art & Design, History, Science and RE. As an author and illustrator, Susie has written over thirty books for children and adults, on many subjects including history, art, design and science. She has written articles, booklets and websites for The V&A, The Museum of London, Tate and The Royal Academy, as well as giving talks from businesses and university students on art in history.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0754819531
• ISBN13: 9780754819530
• Release Date: March 2010
• Publisher: Lorenz Books
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 2.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 9.3" x 11.7"

Customer Reviews

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 Joh