Mad Enchantment

Claude Monet and the Painting of the Water Lilies

By: Ross King

Narrated by: Joel Richards

We have all seen, whether live, in photographs or on postcards, some of Claude Monet's legendary water lily paintings. They are in museums all over the world and are among the most beloved works of art of the past century. Yet, ironically, these soothing images were created amid terrible personal turmoil and sadness.

The extraordinarily dramatic history behind the creation of these paintings is little-known; Ross King's new audiobook tells that story for the first time and, in the process, presents a compelling and original portrait of one of our most beloved artists.

King tells the full history of the special circumstances in which Monet created the Water Lilies. As World War I exploded within hearing distance of his house at Giverny, he was facing his own personal crucible. In 1911, aged 71, his adored wife, Alice, died, plunging him into deep mourning. A year later he began going blind. Then his eldest son, Jean, fell ill and died of syphilis, and his other son was sent to the front to fight for France.

Within months a violent storm destroyed much of the garden that had been his inspiration for some 20 years. At the same time, his reputation was under attack, as a new generation of artists, led by Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, were dazzling the art world and expressing disgust with Impressionism.

Against all this, fighting his own self-doubt, depression, and age, Monet found the wherewithal to construct a massive new studio, 70 feet long and 50 feet high, to accommodate the gigantic canvases that would, he hoped, revive him.

Using letters, memoirs, and other sources not employed by other biographers, and focusing on this remarkable period in the artist's life, Ross King reveals a more complex, more human, more intimate Claude Monet than has ever been portrayed and firmly places his water lily project among the greatest achievements in the history of art.

©2016 Ross King (P)2016 Audible, Ltd

A tale of two french giants ...

Excellent history of two complex but great human beings. The text, however, can become a tad boring (one cannot skip pages in an audiobook!) and Joel Richards' french pronunciation is dire.

Excellent

Very thorough and engaging. History doesn’t interest me generally, but the author effortlessly weaved in events and individuals that gave a grand picture. I received an education not only about the great Monet himself, but the world in which he lived. Delightful read.

PLOT

Por fin se desvelan todas las anécdotas que están atrás de esa obra maestra de Monet.
Muy buenas conexiones históricas; la narración entra a pleno en la vida del artista proporcionando todos los elementos que contribuyeron a su creación.
Buena interpretación del narrador. 100% aconsejado para todos aquellos que aman el Arte.

Good read for anyone interested in Monet

Any additional comments?

I was shocked to find that the book started after the death of his first wife. There was NO mention of childhood experiences or influences? Or even much about his early personal life with his first wife and his children while they were younger. that seems to be crucial missing information.

A Masterful review

Once again Ross King surpasses his subject matter with exquisite detail of the time described