Publisher's Synopsis
The boat was the ideal site for Monet to execute his new plein-air paintings, enabling him to depict nature, water, and the play of light. Similarly, Argenteuil was the perfect place for Manet, the great painter of contemporary life, to observe Parisian society at leisure. His portrait brings all the elements together- Manet's own eye for the effect of social conventions and boredom on vacationers, and Monet's eye for nature-but these qualities remain markedly distinct. With this book, esteemed art historian Willibald Sauerländer describes how Manet, in one instant, created a defining image of an entire epoch, capturing the artistic tendencies of the time in a masterpiece that is both graceful and profound.