Sign-In
Cart
Why Monet Matters: Meanings Among the Lily Pads
Paperback
Art HistoryFrench HistoryIndividual Artists
ISBN13: 9780271091167
Publisher: Penn State University Press
Published: Jan 11 2022
Pages: 392
Weight: 3.95
Height: 1.50 Width: 10.00 Depth: 8.60
Language: English
Claude Monet's Water Lilies are widely recognized as a celebration of nature and a call to visual experience. The skilled brushwork, vivid color, and immersive quality of the paintings suspend thoughts of the outside world and its concerns. And yet, when one realizes that these works were made during a period of social and political turmoil--rapid changes of government, the Dreyfus Affair, and the destruction and devastation of World War I--questions arise about the personal, cultural, and historical contexts within which they were created. In this book, James H. Rubin explores these conditions and shows how Monet's work--said to be a harbinger of abstraction--appeals not only to the eye but also to something deep in modern consciousness.
The myth of Impressionism is that it was reviled and misunderstood, but by the 1890s Monet was rich by anyone's standards, and his works were considered French cultural treasures. Monet was featured in a propaganda film in response to German militarism, and he was persuaded by Georges Clemenceau to donate a number of his Water Lilies paintingsto the French nation following the Treaty of Versailles. Taking this into account, Rubin uncovers how the theme of floating lily pads could serve political ends, exposing relationships between Monet's apparently subject-free art and its material circumstances in the modern world.
Engagingly written, masterfully argued, and featuring more than 150 illustrations, Why Monet Matters is a major study of an artist who had the will and the talent to remain relevant to his time without conceding to its fashions. Scholars, students, and those who appreciate Monet and Impressionism will value and learn from this book.
Also in
Art History
The Secrets of Art: Uncovering the Mysteries and Messages of Great Works of Art
Mancoff, Debra N.
Hardcover
Progressive Design in the Midwest: The Purcell-Cutts House and the Prairie School Collection at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Olivarez, Jennifer Komar
Paperback
Sabine's Notebook: In Which the Extraordinary Correspondence of Griffin & Sabine Continues
Bantock, Nick
Hardcover
Paint by Sticker (Official): Works of Art: Re-Create 12 Iconic Masterpieces One Sticker at a Time!
Workman Publishing
Paperback
Paint by Sticker (Official): Masterpieces: Re-Create 12 Iconic Artworks One Sticker at a Time!
Workman Publishing
Paperback
Stupid Faces in Stunning Paintings: A Serious Exploration of Art History's Silliest Expressions
Mierlo, Matthijs Van
Hardcover
The Art Spy: The Extraordinary Untold Tale of WWII Resistance Hero Rose Valland
Young, Michelle
Hardcover
Oliver Byrne's Elements of Euclid: The First Six Books with Coloured Diagrams and Symbols (Art Meets Science Edition)
Art Meets Science
Hardcover
Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of It
Ramirez, Janina
Paperback
Paint by Sticker (Official): Portraits: Re-Create 12 Historic Paintings One Sticker at a Time!
Workman Publishing
Paperback
The Secrets of Painting: The Hidden Art of the Masterpiece from Prehistory to Today
Goudie, Lachlan
Hardcover
Adventures in the Louvre: How to Fall in Love with the World's Greatest Museum
Sciolino, Elaine
Paperback
The Short Story of Queer Art: A Pocket Guide to Key Movements, Works, Themes & Breakthroughs
Hoskin, Dawn
Paperback
Flashes of Brilliance: The Genius of Early Photography and How It Transformed Art, Science, and History
Burgess, Anika
Hardcover
The Annotated Mona Lisa, Third Edition: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to the Present
Strickland, Carol
Paperback
Van Gogh Has a Broken Heart: What Art Teaches Us about the Wonder and Struggle of Being Alive
Ramsey, Russ
Hardcover
AP Art History Premium, Sixth Edition: Prep Book with 5 Practice Tests + Comprehensive Review + Online Practice
Nici, John B., M. a.
Paperback
Weaving at Black Mountain College: Anni Albers, Trude Guermonprez, and Their Students
Beggs, Michael
Thomson, Julie J.
Hardcover
Adventures in the Louvre: How to Fall in Love with the World's Greatest Museum
Sciolino, Elaine
Hardcover
Rethinking American Art: Collectors, Critics, and the Changing Canon
Stebbins Jr, Theodore E., Jr.
Hardcover
The Codex Borgia: A Full-Color Restoration of the Ancient Mexican Manuscript
Díaz, Gisele
Rodgers, Alan
Paperback