Monet and London: Views of the Thames – Book Review

Claude Monet London

Monet and London: Views of the Thames is a brilliant accompaniment to the major exhibition at The Courtauld Gallery, which reunites Claude Monet’s iconic London series for the first time in over a century. This magnificently curated volume brings together an exceptionally rare assembly of Impressionist paintings that Monet produced during his sojourns in London between 1899 and 1901. Long overshadowed by the French landscapes for which he is so renowned, these works offer a rare glimpse into his deep fascination with the Thames and the atmospheric beauty of the British capital.

As the leader of French Impressionism, Monet was celebrated around the world for the transformation he brought about in modern art. Few people appreciate, however, that some of his most innovative and evocative works were actually painted not in France at all but in London. The series underneath recorded the Charing Cross Bridge, Waterloo Bridge, and the Houses of Parliament. He captures in Thames views that had never shown the river ever-ghostly under steam, light mysterious, color radiant, shifting.

First seen in Paris in 1904, these paintings were supposed to have gone on to London the following year, but that exhibition never took place. Over a century later, Monet and London realised this dream by bringing these magnificent paintings to the banks of the Thames, literally within yards of where they were painted. The book is a rare chance for readers to see the collection as Monet himself would have envisioned it—the works he himself chose for both his London and Paris public.

This book is much more than an exhibition catalogue; it constitutes seminal research into Monet’s artistic process and his London vision. The book is lavishly illustrated, and with 21 detailed entries and four insightful essays, new light is shed on this lesser-known aspect of Monet’s oeuvre. Through these pages, readers will learn more about Monet’s perpetual fascination with London and his extraordinary artistic attempt to capture the fugitive light of London.

Monet and London: Views of the Thames is a requisite library addition for anyone interested in Monet’s genius or the interrelationship between a work of art and a place. It accompanies an extraordinary exhibition and extends our knowledge and understanding of the artist’s work and his exceptional vision from London’s ever-changing landscape. – PCR

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