‘The Painter of Snapshots’

Claude Oscar Monet’s work was shaped from an early age by the Normandy countryside around Le Havre. His love of water – of ponds, rivers, lakes and the sea – was evident even in his youth. Alongside his desire to capture light, air and atmosphere, water remained his favourite subject right up until the end of his life. This lecture explores which painters influenced him and why his works proved decisive for the emergence of Impressionism. His eventful life is traced through a selection of his masterpieces.