Monet at Etretat

One understudied aspect of the life and works of Oscar-Claude Monet (1840-1926) is the artist’s engagement with the town of Etretat 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 Etretat’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 Etretat 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 works by Monet and his contemporaries Gustave Courbet, Camille Corot, and Eugene 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.