Monet at Étretat

Book excerpt: One understudied aspect of the life and works of Oscar-Claude Monet (1840-1926) is the artist's engagement with the town of Étretat on the Normandy coast of France during the mid-1880s. Monet traveled there twice for extended painting sojourns and eventually created over eighty works, more than he painted of any other site away from his home. Through these visits, Monet witnessed Étretat's shift from a quiet fishing village in a dramatic natural setting to a tourist destination. In this focused study, Chiyo Ishikawa places Monet's Étretat works within the context of his artistic ambition and frustration at a key moment in his life and career. She also explores the changing relationship between society and landscape in late nineteenth-century France. The book features sixteen paintings by Monet and his contemporaries Gustave Courbet, Camille Corot, and Eugène Boudin, supplemented by photographs and ephemeral material to bring to life Monet's experience in the region. The biographical context, in addition to the immersive visual experience, offers a vivid account of this significant aspect of Monet's artistic progression.