Monet

Hailed as the "Prince of the Impressionists", Claude Monet (1840-1926) turned expectations into paint on canvas. Challenging the precedents of centuries, Monet sought to depict not only reality, but also the very act of perception. Working "en plein air" with quick, rapid brush strokes, he explored the play of light on shades, patterns and contours, and the way in which these visual impressions hit the eye.

Monet's interest in this space "between subject and artist" also encompassed the ephemeral nature of every image we see. In his beloved series of water lilies, as well as paintings of poplars, stacks of grain and Rouen Cathedral, he returned to the same motif at different times of the year, in different weather conditions and at different times of the day to explore the constant variability of our visual environment.

This book offers an introduction to an artist whose works simultaneously reflected on the purpose of paintings and the passage of time, and thus irreversibly changed the history of art.