The man who caught the light - Claude Monet, 100 years after his death.
Born after suffering
"Beautiful Paradise"
The content "CLOSE UP" focuses on art topics that are attracting attention both domestically and internationally and introduces their appeal. The theme of this time is "Claude Monet", a painter who is loved all over the world as a "painter of light".
Water lilies, light, swaying water surfaces - many of Claude Monet's worlds that invite the viewer to quiet bliss. But behind the brush was an unimaginable ordeal: poverty, ridicule from critics, and parting with loved ones. Why did Monet continue to paint such a beautiful world? The answer was in his eventful life.
Why does the world still love Monet?
2026 marks the 100th anniversary of Claude Monet's death. However, even now, one century after his death, Monet's works are loved all over the world, with billions of yen sold in the auction market. Monet's works are characterized by the way light breaks on the surface of the water, the cathedral floating faintly in the mist, and the pond where water lilies sway quietly. It is said that "many people are speechless when they stand in front of Monet's paintings," so much so that Monet's works can feel something that cannot be explained just by being "beautiful".
However, behind the gorgeous-looking paintings there was a long agony and constant conflict. After going through suffering and disappointment, what we arrive at is the beautiful world that Monet depicts. Now, 100 years after his death, we will delve deeper into what kind of life he has lived.
"Poppy Field (Giverny)"
Written by: Claude Monet
A ridiculed genius — "Impressionism" was an insult
Oscar = Claude Monet, who was born in Paris in 1840, was said to have been a child who hated to fit into a mold, drawing a portrait of a teacher in the margins of a textbook and playing with it.
However, one day, the caricatures he drew in a local stationery store sold like crazy, and a new path of "earning money from painting" opened up for Monet, who had been freely drawing as a hobby. This original experience was the first step for Monet to dream of becoming a painter, and he went to Paris and began his career in painting in earnest.
However, his life as a painter did not go well when he moved to Paris. At that time, the art world was considered to be a gateway to success for painters by being selected for prestigious salons (official exhibitions), so Monet also aimed to be selected for the Salon, but the Salon was evaluated for its "correct painting" style, which depicts historical and religious paintings with heavy brushstrokes. Monet's style, which tried to capture the "color as it seems" of the subject he painted, including fluctuations in light and changes in the atmosphere, rather than the "inherent color" of the subject he painted, did not meet the salon's evaluation criteria, and he was repeatedly rejected over and over again.
"Caricature of Jules Didier"
（Caricature of Jules Didier (“Butterfly Man”)）
Written by: Claude Monet
In 1874, Monet and his friends, who were fascinated by the trend of the times to evaluate this "correct painting", decided to hold a new exhibition on their own. This is the so-called "1st Impressionist Exhibition". However, even though we held our own exhibitions, at that time it was an era when "correct painting" was evaluated. The critic Louis Leroy, who saw "Impressions: Sunrise" exhibited in this exhibition, mocked the work and criticized it, saying, "It only depicts a simple impression." However, in fact, this insult ironically gave rise to the name "Impressionism" and changed the history of art profoundly, but Monet at the time could not afford to think that this exhibition was the birth of his representative style. Monet's works, which were not evaluated by the salon, did not sell at all, and he had no money to buy new art supplies or pay rent, and he continued to live in extreme poverty with no food for the day.
He shared a small amount of food with his friend the painter Renoir, wrote letters to his patrons, and cried for help. There is a record of a suicide attempt in 1868 due to the hardships of life and creative impasse, but Monet never put down his brush. It can be seen that in any harsh situation, painting was his only support.
"I was born to paint."
When I realize that Monet's words in later years were born after the terrible suffering of his youth, the weight that resonates in his heart sounds different. Despite being ridiculed by the world and devastated by poverty, his indomitable will to continue to pursue the light single-mindedly became the driving force behind the creation of masterpieces that would later change the world.
"Impression, Sunrise"
Written by: Claude Monet
"Two sisters"
（Caricature of Jules Didier (“Butterfly Man”)）
Written by: Renoir
Love and Loss: Two Women Who Changed Monet's Colors
If you are admiring multiple Monet paintings, you may notice that the colors in the paintings increase in "depth" and "complexity" from a certain period of time. In fact, behind this change was the meeting with a loved one and their loss.
Monet met his first wife, Camille Donshou, around 1865. Camille served as a model for Monet, who was still only an unknown painter at the time, but eventually the two fell deeply in love with each other. Camille appeared in Monet's paintings many times after that, and in 1866, "Camille (Woman in Green)" was well received at the salon and became Monet's successive work. Her lively appearance seems to tell that Monet was indeed on the verge of grasping happiness at that time.
But this happiness did not last long. Camille fell ill in 1879 at the young age of 32 and passed away. Monet's shock to the sudden death of his beloved woman must have been immeasurable, but he decided to paint a picture of his wife lying on her deathbed. Monet later confessed about the work, called "Camille on the Deathbed".
"Woman in Green (Portrait of Camille)
Written by: Claude Monet
"I found myself trying to analyze the color of death in front of my beloved's face. I was afraid of that."
This is not a story that Monet was a "cold person". It can be said that it is a confession of the most vivid moment as a human being, where love and instinct as a painter were in conflict. And that experience changed Monet's sense of color to something deeper and richer, and it was also the moment when the pain of loss dwelled in the paintbrush.
Monet then remarried Alice, who was the wife of his friend Ernesto Oshde, and in 1883 he moved to Giverny, a small village in Normandy. The second life he had with his new family opened up new horizons for Monet's creations. If his days with Camille taught him the "sadness of losing", it can be said that his peaceful life with Alice developed "an eye for finding beauty in everyday life". Two women shaped the painter Monet.
Creation of Paradise: Monet's Dream in Giverny
It is said that the first thing Monet did when he moved to Giverny was not to repair the house or make paintings, but to build a garden. Monet himself took a shovel, plowed the soil, planted flowers, dug ponds, and built bridges. Fascinated by Japanese ukiyo-e prints—prints by Hokusai and Hiroshige—Monet installed a bridge that resembled a taiko bridge, surrounded by wisteria trellises. In addition, water lilies were floated in the pond, and trees were planted so that willow branches hung on the surface of the water. For Monet, this is not just a hobby gardening, but a kind of creative activity of "creating a world to be drawn with your own hands." It must have been an attempt to embody his own ideal paradise on earth that did not exist in reality. By the way, this Giverny garden became the stage that gave birth to the great fruit of the "Water Lily Series" in his later years.
"Japanese Bridge"
Written by: Claude Monet
During this period, Monet established a method called "continuous painting". "Stacked Straw", "Rouen Cathedral", "London Bridge"—the purpose of this "series", which repeatedly depicts the same motif at different times, in different seasons, and in different weathers, was to depict "light itself". To capture the moment of light that hits it, not the shape of the object. This intense commitment opened up a new horizon of painting, one step ahead of the Impressionists.
But fate was mean. From around 1908, Monet's vision began to deteriorate rapidly due to cataracts, and the irony arose that a man whose lifelong mission was to draw light could no longer see the light accurately. However, Monet continued to refuse surgery and continued to paint with almost no vision in his later years.
However, Monet's later works, whose perception of color had changed due to poor eyesight, were transformed into more generous and more abstract expressions, and the resulting series of large decorative paintings "Water Lilies" had a great influence on later Abstract Expressionist painters and became a bridge to 20th-century painting. Monet's tenacity to continue chasing light in the midst of his losing vision unexpectedly pushed art history to the next stage.
100 years after his death: What the "painter of light" conveys to the present day
Monet's reputation was actually widely established from his later years to his death. How long did it take for the ridiculed "Impression of the Sunrise" to be praised as a monument in art history? The tenacity of a man who was reviled by critics, suffered from poverty, lost loved ones, and finally lost his sight, but still continued to hold the paintbrush throughout his 86-year life, continues to move the hearts of people around the world 100 years later.
One of the things Monet's life teaches us is the power of "continuing to give shape to your longing". The garden of Giverny was not created by someone else's order, nor was it made because I wanted a subject for painting. Monet's pure longing for a world like this, which he held deep in his heart, drove him to dig the soil with a shovel. And the pictures he continued to draw in the paradise he created with his own hands make people around the world happy even 100 years later.
To have a world in your space that you feel is beautiful. Every morning when I wake up, my favorite painting is on the wall. It is not just an interior, but it is synonymous with inviting your "longing world" into your daily life.
Monet, 100 years after his death, still asks us questions. What kind of light do you want to live in? If anyone can find the answer to that question in a single painting – that may be the reason why Monet continued to paint.
"Portrait of Claude Monet" 2"
Written by: Pierre = Auguste Renoir
Introduction of the work: 10 points to decipher Monet's "dream"
Here are 10 representative works that colored Monet's life, along with their backgrounds. By tracing the chronological order, we will emerge how a single painter's "dream" changed and deepened.
1. Benecour, on the banks of the Seine (1868)
This work was painted at the age of 27, a few years before Monet established the style of "impressionism". The woman depicted is his wife, Camille Donsiu. She is depicted sitting on the banks of the Seine, looking at the landscape of Bennocourt (actually the neighboring village of Groton) on the opposite bank. This work is said to be the only painting painted in the short period the two spent in Grotten, and it may have been one of the few peaceful days in Monet's turbulent life.
2. Camille (The Woman in Green) (1866)
A successful work depicting his first wife, Camille. It was well received at the Salon and was the first work to make Monet's name known to the world. Looking back while turning the hem of her dress, her figure is full of vitality and seems to trap the happy time of the two young people. When I learn about the tragedy that followed and face this painting again, its perky appearance is even more endearing.
3. Impression and Sunrise (1872)
A monumental piece that gave birth to the name Impressionism. This work, which depicts the dawn of the port of Le Havre, became the origin of "Impressionism", which was born from the mockery of critics. The sun seeping into the fog and the orange light swaying on the surface of the water can be taken as a symbol of Monet's own hope, which has not yet been recognized by the world. In the rough-shaved touch, there is a strong will not to miss a moment of light.
4. Woman with a parasol, Madame Monet and her son (1875)
A masterpiece depicting Camille and her son Jean standing on a grassland hill as if looking up from below. The skirt and parasol sway in the wind, capturing a moment when it seems as if it is about to start moving. A happy afternoon of Monet's beloved family — but four years later, Camille passes away. That is why this painting strikes the viewer's heart as a memory of happiness that has been lost forever. Light, wind and loved ones. Everything Monet pursued is condensed in this one piece. It is a representative work of the period when the Impressionist technique reached its maturity, and is one of the most beloved works by later generations.
5. Saint=Lazare Station (1877)
Monet depicted the railway station, which symbolizes Paris in the midst of the Industrial Revolution, in a way that no one has attempted. The white smoke rising from the steam locomotive and the light penetrating through the glass roof create a fantastic space. Even modern materials such as iron and glass become stage sets of light in Monet's hands. Critics of the time looked down on it as an "ugly modern landscape," but Monet also found beauty in the city. It was this flexibility of perspective that made Monet not just a landscape painter but an innovator who opened up his era.
6. Stacked straw (1890-91)
A series of 25 paintings depicting haystacks piled up in rural Normandy under various light conditions from summer to winter. The same motif glows faintly in the morning mist and turns fiery orange at dusk. For the first time, it was clearly shown in this series that Monet was not a "thing" but a "light" rather than an object.
7. Rouen Cathedral (1892-94)
A series of more than 30 works that repeatedly depict Rouen Cathedral in Normandy from morning to evening, from sunny to cloudy. He took up a position in a room in the apartment across the street, lined up multiple canvases, and continued to paint according to the changes in light. The cathedral is no longer a building, but a "screen" that receives light. This series of works, with its heavy stone walls melting in the light and trembling texture, can be said to be the ultimate form of Impressionism.
8. Vetoile (1901)
A landscape painting depicting the small village of Veteuil on the banks of the Seine. The Monet family moved to this village in 1878, when the hardships of life were at their worst. And in this village, his beloved wife Camille passes away at the young age of 32. Depicted in the grief of loss, this work has a quiet river surface and a serene village appearance. Even in the midst of his suffering, Monet continued to find beauty in the landscape in front of him. The pale tones and soft brushstrokes mark a turning point in Monet's sense of color, which changes through deep sadness.
9. Waterloo Bridge (1903)
One of a series of paintings on the banks of the Thames painted during his stay in London. The misty London air melts the bridges and shakes the river surface. Monet painted the industrial fog created by the air pollution in London at that time more beautifully than anyone else. This is a work that shows Monet's gaze that "if there is light, any place becomes a paradise."
10. Water Lilies (1906-16)
One of the representative works of the water lily series depicting a pond in Giverny. Water lilies floating on the surface of the water, swaying aquatic plants, reflected sky and clouds—they become one, and even the distinction between the upper and lower becomes blurred. This is the moment when Monet came closest to capturing "light itself," which he pursued throughout his life. The year 1906 when this work was painted was just before the onset of vision loss due to cataracts. Standing at the entrance to his later years, when his sense of color was most sharpened, Monet's quiet and confident brushstrokes dominate the entire canvas.
At the Artizon Museum,
An exhibition tailored to the 100th anniversary of Claude Monet's death
"Claude Monet: A Question of the Landscape" is being held
On the 100th anniversary of Monet's death, retrospective exhibitions of Monet are being held in various countries around the world. In Japan, it is currently being held at the Artizon Museum in Tokyo. Please take this opportunity to see some of the approximately 140 works, including those in the collection of the Musée d'Orsay (Paris, France).
Event Overview
Dates: February 7, 2026 (Sat) ~ May 24, 2026 (Sun)
*Tickets must be reserved by date and time reservation.
Opening hours: 10 a.m. ~ 6 p.m.
*Open until 8 p.m. on Fridays, May 2 (Sat), May 9 (Sat), May 16 (Sat), and May 23 (Sat) except March 20)
*Admission is until 30 minutes before closing.
Venue: 1-7-2 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo Ishibashi Foundation Artizon Museum of Art
*The information is current at the time of publication. Please check the official website for the latest information.
Light and shadow by the light painter Claude Monet. His works, which continue to fascinate people around the world even 100 years after his death, will be loved forever in the future. The next issue is "Nihonbashi Art Publisher Special Feature". Please look forward to it.