Monet: The Early Years

by George T.M. Shackelford, Richard Shiff, Richard Thomson

The first comprehensive examination of the painter’s formative years, tracing the evolution of Monet’s early style and personal ambitions that drove the rest of his career

This elegant volume is the first to be devoted to the young genius of Claude Monet (1840–1926). Bringing together the greatest paintings from his early career—including his first Salon-exhibited work, the Kimbell Art Museum’s La Pointe de la Hève at Low Tide ; Déjeuner sur l’Herbe (Luncheon on the Grass) and The Magpie from the Musée d’Orsay; and  The Green Wave   and La Grenouillère from the Metropolitan Museum of Art—it features essays by distinguished scholars, focusing on the evolution of Monet’s own distinctive mode of painting. Through the 1860s, the young painter absorbed and transformed a variety of influences, from the lessons of the Barbizon school and his mentor Boudin to the challenges posed by his friends Manet, Pissarro, Renoir, and Sisley. Artistic innovation and personal ambition shaped the work of the celebrated impressionist painter from the very start of his long and illustrious career.

Distributed for the Kimbell Art Museum

Exhibition Schedule: Kimbell Art Museum
(10/16/16–01/29/17) Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
(02/25/17–05/29/17)

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, History, Biography

320 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2016

Reviews

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw the exhibit at San Francisco's Legion of Honor FAMSF several times and wish I’d gone even more often. This is an excellent exhibit catalog. Every painting from the exhibit is in the book, along with other paintings not included at the museum, and it also has lots of text, much more than is in the exhibit itself.

I read this over a long period of time. When I first got it I was thrilled and loved it. I still do and I will continue to enjoy its art but I admit that now that the exhibit is closed and I can’t get to the museum to see the art full size on the walls in person, these pages have lost a bit of their luster, and aren’t quite as appealing. I’m still very grateful to have the book. I do love art books.

This book was a gift from a friend. When I have to cull books, and that’s asap, it’s going to be hard to cull any art or vegan books, and this one might survive the cut; it will depend on the circumstances.

[Roman Clodia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much more than just an exhibition catalogue, this is an exploration of Monet's early works and praxis of painting illuminated by a set of richly-accented scholarly essays.

I especially enjoyed the critical analysis offered which places Monet's paintings into a network of dialogues, not just with other artistic works but also with contemporary literary texts - what literary scholars would call intertexts or a regime of intertextuality.

There are lavish illustrations and reproductions throughout, making this accessible to the amateur enthusiast as well as those more knowledgeable about Monet's early years.

An excellent re-consideration of Monet with enlightening intellectual substance.

Thanks to the publisher for an ARC via Netgalley.

[Joel Robert Ballard · Rating 4 out of 5]

"In November of 1872, from a hotel room on the port Le Havre, Monet paints an extraordinary defused picture of the rising sun, in which quickly brushed in mists of thinned blue paint suggest a moody overall background of water and sky, accented and given special depth by the addition of dark shadows and bright red reflections in the painters characteristic horizontal strokes. Eighteen months later, he will include the painting as part of his submission to the exhibition he organizes with a group of independent painters who wish to show outside the Salon system— a group including Cezanne, Degas, Pissarro, Renoir, and Sisley. Years later, he explained 'They asked me the title for the catalogue; it could not really pass for a view of Le Havre, so I replied: Put Impression.'" —Monet: The Early Years

Rendered as a companion guidebook to the 2017 exhibition Monet: The Early Years , this beautifully designed edition includes not just Shackelford's introduction, as well as the finely researched essays by Anthea Callen, Mary Dailey Desmarais, Richard Shiff, and Richard Thompson, but also a more than adequate display of depictions of the painters works; conveniently presented with their corresponding category numbers. The only concern I had was that the research did border on tedium, consistently referring to "fig.s" and "cat.s" that required a lot of annoying forward and backward page turning to match reference pictures and text.

However, I found that the Summary Chronology of Monet's life, the years between 1840—72, was the most useful aspect of this book; revealing an understanding of, not only the environment and time frames for his paintings, but also such intangibles dictating his choices; issues of health, the raising of a family, his financial setbacks, and ultimately, having to flee his home with the declaration of war between France and Prussia. As his life changed and evolved, so did his art, evolving into what would eventually become the initial visionary stages of what would be called Impressionism.

The second half of Monet: The Early Years is the organized Catalogue of all the exhibition works, with descriptions and footnotes, details and insights regarding each individual painting — a total of 56 in all. It goes without saying, that, after viewing the actual art first hand and then studying this guide, I found myself compelled to return, at least once more, and visit with this visionary painter, study his paint strokes up close, and embrace that lingering presence of his inspiration which is still emanating from each creation.

Perhaps I will.

[Wayne McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Monet The Early Years' by George T.M. Shackelford with essays by Anthea Callen, Mary Dailey Desmarais, Richard Shiff, and Richard Thomson is the companion catalog for an exhibit of works by Monet that was at the Kimbell Art Museum and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco during late 2016 to mid-2017.

The essays in this book talk about the early techniques that Monet used. There is one devoted to the light used in Luncheon on the Grass. There is one that talks about compositional techniques. Monet was influenced by the painters around him, but he also went further in many ways.

The catalogue has information about where Monet was living and working during the creation of the paintings. There are also works by contemporaries throughout the book showing similar vistas from other eyes and brushes.

I enjoyed reading about this part of Monet's life, and I enjoyed getting to view the paintings that were in this exhibit.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Yale University Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

[January Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and well put together. This book is a treasure.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

In preparation for leading a group of French language students through an exhibit of the same name, I studied this catalog of paintings and the accompanying text about the artist's first decade of productivity. The information on his life illuminated many of the paintings collected here. I was surprised to discover how many of his best known works were actually painted before the Impressionists began to show together. Monet's facility with light and shadow set the tone for the entire Impressionist movement. Even after thirty years of teaching art history, there is always more to observe and learn.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A comprehensive and in-depth exploration of Monet’s early work, this book is a delight. Far more than an exhibition catalogue, it is an illuminating study of the artist, with many high-quality reproductions, and is a volume that will be enjoyed by all art lovers.

[William West]

This was a little different from the usual, countless, Monet exhibits one encounters. The vast majority of the works displayed are from the years prior to the painter's move to Argenteuil, the show concluding with a few paintings made immediately after the family's move to the hamlet north of Paris.

The highlights for me were clearly "The Red Kerchief", a stunning pov of the painter looking up and seeing his forlorn looking wife through a window, and "The Magpie," a winter landscape in which Monet's mastery of light-play is especially evident in his depiction of the snow covered ground. So many shades of white and grey shouldn't be so dramatic, but they are.

We've come so accustomed to Monet's paintings of his estate at Argenteuil that it's hard not to associate his work with a certain domesticity. The works in this exhibition, by the often poor young artist, show a vagabond Monet at the mercy of history. As the French-Prussian War broke out, many young artists fled the country to escape the draft. The Monets settled in London while the War and the Commune raged on in France. The paintings of London are definitely seized by a forlorn wariness, and a distinctively British chilliness in both hue and brushstroke. The figures, seen even from a distance, seem far less free of form or relaxed in manner than in any of the better known continental paintings.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a art lover but I enjoy this book so much! Very interesting and well written.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great source of information for everyone who wants to know more about Monet and his life. Plus, you also get to see a lot of Monet’s paintings, since the book is filled with great pictures of Monet’s works.

It was a different experience for me to read this book. I mostly read fiction, and it’s different when you read a novel than when you read a history book about a real person – it took me longer than usual to finish this book. Nevertheless, it was a pleasure to read it, and I enjoyed it tremendously.

To be honest, I did not know much about Monet before I read this book. I’ve heard of him, of course, but did not know much about his life. This book, Monet- The Early Years by George T. M. Shackelford, sparked my interest in art history; therefore, this semester I took an Art History course as a gen. ed. in college. Moreover, for my big essay, I chose to write about Monet and Impressionism, because I became fascinated by this great artist that gave the name to a new art movement, thanks to his painting named Impressions: Sunrise.

I am very grateful for the opportunity to read this book. It opened the door for a new interest.

I recommend Monet – Early Years by George T. M. Shackelford to everyone who loves art and Monet. Even if you don’t know much about art, I still think you should give this book a chance. Who knows, maybe you’ll develop a new passion.

[Marzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fabulous book, far more than a mere exhibition catalogue. The book follows Monet's work as he developed his art. Surprisingly, in his youth, he mostly drew caricatures. His family was initially unsupportive of his aspirations of being an artist. It was only after Eugène Boudin took him under his wing that he began to paint and embrace landscape work. Subsequent exposure to art of the Barbizon School (Corot, Millet, et al) led him to enroll in a conventional Academie. His tenure there brief and unproductive, he was stationed in Algeria but left to recover from illness. Upon returning to Paris he met his other early stylistic influence, Johan Barthold Jongkind. Within a short time he was working in the studio of Charles Gleyre, where he met his greatest artist friend, Pierre Auguste Renoir. The depth of their artistic connection, each with a unique painting and compositional style, is highlighted extensively, though the focus of the book is Monet's work from the 1860's- early 1870's.

The book offers seven essays on different aspects of the early years of Monet's painting. Among the them, Hunting the Light presents an interesting discussion of Monet's "Déjeuner sur L'Herbe," and its complexity when contrasted with Manet's more famous image of the same title. Much of the artwork in the catalogue is richly reproduced, in good color quality and of generous size, in the eBook copy I received. From the exquisite The Porte d'Amont, Entretat 1868-69 to the Argenteuil paintings of the early 1870's, the images and details of images are a true visual treat.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

When most people think of Monet, they think of his later paintings of lilies. This catalogue follows Monet's development as an artist and presents many of his early works, some of which may be unfamiliar to readers but still carry a recognizable trace of his style.

[Alexia Polasky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Netgallet and Yale University Press for the ARC!
I believe this is the most comprehensive book on Monet's life and work. Ful review on my blog.