Claude Monet

The engine driving the French Impressionist movement, Claude Monet (18401926) was its most rigorous and prolific practitioner; indeed, the movement was named after one of his canvases, Impression, Sunrise, which was seen at the first independent exhibition presented by Monet and his colleagues in 1874. His commitment to capturing the effects of light led him to paint the same landscapes at different times and seasons, and Monet's late canvases of waterlilies presaged abstract impressionism. Boasting outstanding colour reproductions on nearly every page, this art book is both affordable and compact (measuring just under 7 inches square) yet offers a surprisingly wide-ranging survey of this important modern artist, with an introductory essay, titles, and captions in six languages.