Monet Au Havre : Les Années Décisives

Claude Monet was the main actor of the Impressionist revolution. To better understand what is profoundly new about this painting, we must return to the places where it appeared and question the men and women who enabled Monet to accomplish his historic breakthrough. Thirty decisive years separate 1845, when the Monet family settled in Le Havre, and 1874, the date of the first Impressionist exhibition in Paris.

This book links, for the first time, the beginnings of a pictorial revolution and the riches of a country whose territory has Le Havre at its heart. With unpublished documents, the book studies the impact of life in Le Havre on Monet, the conditions of his first artistic training, the sites painted, the influences at work in the young artist's painting, the evolution of his technique, and his first patrons. A chronology, maps and a family tree provide essential documentation for understanding the painter and his career.