Master of the sublime
The essential Impressionist
No other artist, apart from J.M.W. Turner, tried as hard as Claude Monet (1840–1926) to capture light itself on canvas. Of all the Impressionists, it was the man Cézanne called “only an eye, but my God what an eye!” who stayed true to the principle of absolute fidelity to the visual sensation, painting directly from the object.

It could be said that Monet reinvented the possibilities of color. Whether it was through his early interest in Japanese prints, his time as a conscript in the dazzling light of Algeria, or his personal acquaintance with the major painters of the late 19th century, the work Monet produced throughout his long life would change forever the way we perceive both the natural world and its attendant phenomena. The high point of his explorations was the late series of waterlilies, painted in his own garden at Giverny, which, in their approach toward almost total formlessness, are really the origin of abstract art.

This biography does full justice to this most remarkable and profoundly influential artist, and offers numerous reproductions and archive photos alongside a detailed and insightful commentary.

　　除了透纳以外，或许再也没有人能够像莫奈一样，巧妙地透过画布和画笔，生动地捕捉光影印象的纷呈变化。莫奈重新创造了色彩运用的可能性，这可能归功于他早期对于日本绘画的兴趣、他在阿尔及利亚服兵役的时光、或者他在1800年代晚期和许多知名画家的互动。无论如何，莫奈的画作永远地改变了我们观看自然世界的方式。在这本传记性的著作中，将客观地描述这位伟大画家的生平事迹，并收录许多关于莫奈画作的精美细节和精采评论。

　　本书的作者是Daniel Wildenstein，他是一位艺术历史学家，同时也是法国巴黎Académie des Beaux-Arts的成员之一。他曾负责编辑许多国际艺术期刊，同时也协助推动和策划了许多国际知名的艺术展览。他是研究印象主义的国际权威，曾为高更、马奈和莫奈等印象派画家编辑专书。

Daniel Wildenstein (1917-2001) was an art historian and member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts (Paris). From 1939 onwards, he was Director of the Wildenstein Galleries of New York, London and Tokyo. He edited several international journals, e.g. the magazine Arts from 1956-1962 and the Gazette des Beaux-Arts after 1963. He co-founded the Fondation Wildenstein in 1970 (it was renamed the Wildenstein Institute in 1984), and was a prime mover in many exhibitions of international repute. Daniel Wildenstein also edited the catalogues raisonnés of various 18th, 19th and 20th century artists. He was a world authority on Impressionism, and published catalogues of the works of Gauguin, Manet and Monet.