Monet or The Triumph of Impressionism

 
★認識印象派大師莫內數十年創作生涯
★從光、影技法，沉浸在色彩與光的完美表現之中
 
　　除了透納之外，沒有一位畫家像莫內一樣努力在畫布上捕捉光線。莫內始終堅持絕對的視覺感受直接做畫，擅長光、影的實驗與技法，可以說，莫內創造了光線的可能性，沉浸在色彩與光的完美表現之中。
 
　　無論是其早期對日本版畫的興趣，或是他在阿爾及利亞服役時對光線的感知，又或是他在19世紀晚期與畫家朋友的交往，莫內數十年的創作生涯將永遠改變我們對自然界的感知與認識。
 
　　莫內晚年在吉維尼家中所創作出的一系列睡蓮畫作是他創作生涯探索的高峰，這些作品幾乎完全無形，是抽象藝術的真正起源。透過這本畫冊，我們可以了解這位藝術史上最偉大畫家的生平與創作，大量的畫作以及文字說明，讀者們可以細細品味這位印象派大師的創作歷程。

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 water lilies, 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.

The author:
Daniel Wildenstein (1917-2001) was an art historian and member of the Academie 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 WildensteinInstitute in 1984), and was a prime mover in many exhibitions of international repute. Daniel Wildenstein also edited the catalogues raisonnes 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.