Monet's Ecology

Monet's Ecology Synopsis

The first book to examine Monet's landscapes as ecological systems and intricate microcosms of nature and society

Known almost as much for his gardens as for his paintings, the Impressionist Claude Monet (1840-1926) held a fascination with nature that only deepened as his career progressed. Monet's Ecology is the first exhibition to investigate the artist's relationship to ecology and the environment. Illustrated with a dazzling array of landscapes, from his early coastal views of Le Havre to his "impressions" of Westminster Bridge and Gare Saint-Lazare, his Rouen Cathedral series and finally Water Lilies, each curatorial essay in the catalog examines a different aspect of Monet's "ecologies"-from the industrial biomes of London and Paris to the pastoralism of middle-class leisure and contemporary protests against climate change that directly invoke Monet's Giverny scenes-arguing that Monet's radical engagement with the natural world positioned him at the forefront of ecological awareness.