Claude Monet (1840-1926) was the quintessential Impressionist, whose ability to catch the fleeting effect of light and air on canvas have made his paintings admired the world over. But while a Monet picture of waterlilies, poppyfileds or poplar trees is easily identifiable, how and why his art developed from the early figure paintings to the late pictures of the water garden at Giverny is generally less well known. In this account of Monet's life and art, Carla Rachman analyzes the works themselves against the changing artistic and political background of the period to reveal the complicated evolution of an artist who had a formative influence on the history of modern art.