“Sometimes he dreamt he held her; that he would turn in bed and she would be there. But she was gone and he was old. Nearly seventy. Only cool paint met his fingers. “Ma trEs chEre . . .” Darkness started to fall, dimming the paintings. He felt the crumpled letter in his pocket. “I loved you so,” he said. “I never would have had it turn out as it did. You were with all of us when we began, you … gave us courage. These gardens at Giverny are for you but I’m old and you’re forever young and will never see them. . . .” ”
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In the mid-nineteenth century, a young man named Claude Monet decided that he would rather endure a difficult life painting landscapes than take over his father’s nautical supplies business in a French seaside town. Against his father’s will, and with nothing but a dream and an insatiable urge to create a new style of art that repudiated the Classical Realism of the time, he set off for Paris.
But once there he is confronted with obstacles: an art world that refused to validate his style, extreme poverty, and a war that led him away from his home and friends. But there were bright spots as well: his deep, enduring friendships with men named Renoir, CEzanne, Pissarro, Manet – a group that together would come to be known as the Impressionists, and that supported each other through the difficult years. But even more illuminating was his lifelong love, Camille Doncieux, a beautiful, upper-class Parisian girl who threw away her privileged life to be by the side of the defiant painter and embrace the lively Bohemian life of their time.
His muse, his best friend, his passionate lover, and the mother to his two children, Camille stayed with Monet–and believed in his work–even as they lived in wretched rooms, were sometimes kicked out of those, and often suffered the indignities of destitution. She comforted him during his frequent emotional torments, even when he would leave her for long periods to go off on his own to paint in the countryside.
But Camille had her own demons – secrets that Monet could never penetrate, including one that when eventually revealed would pain him so deeply that he would never fully recover from its impact. For though Camille never once stopped loving the painter with her entire being, she was not immune to the loneliness that often came with being his partner.
A vividly-rendered portrait of both the rise of Impressionism and of the artist at the center of the movement, “Claude and Camille” is above all a love story of the highest romantic order.
“From the Hardcover edition.”
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A beautiful novel about my favorite painter. Stephanie paints with words and this is one of her masterpieces.
I love reading about the Impressionist artists because of their courage in the face of poverty, rejection and scorn, all the while trying to maintain somewhat normal lives as they continued to paint masterpieces! Such an inspiration to never give up on your passion!
Claude & Camille is a fictionalized love story inspired by the the artist Claude Monet and his muse Camille. Their love and devotion to each other is well presented. The historical setting helps to bring to life the Impressionist movement. If you like this book and want more detail about the painters of that time whole I recommend I Always Love You. A novel of Mary Cassatt and Edgar Degas. There is much more detail about the annual art shows and the struggle for the impressionist painters to be recognized and accepted.
I am a painter and studied art and art education in college and for my Masters degree. It brought back so much of my art history education to me and made me realize there was a lot yet to learn. I found myself looking up many events and characters in the novel plus reading all the material surrounding the writing of this historical fiction. While reading it I found myself considering ideas within it for my own work. I felt the experience of the time in the writing, as well.
For lovers of impressionists. Imagining the source of indpiration.
I loved this story of the life of Claude Monet and his romance with the lovely Camille. I learned a lot about the time of the Impressionist period in French art.
Highly recommended.
Loved the historical fiction! Great read –
A fine interesting read.
As a fan of Monet’s work, I found this account of his first love enthralling.
I loved this book. No one really knows what Monet’s relationship was like with Camille but the author creates a plausible scenario and throws in interesting historical facts. I had no idea that Monet suffered such great poverty before becoming a recognized and sought after artist. Makes me want to read more about that group of impressionist artists.
I love to travel and museums are always a point of interest—–I have found that sometimes just viewing a painting is not enough—–you need to read about the artist and try to understand “Why”
Hauntingly beautiful !
If you love the Impressionists, you will love this book. A behind the scenes look, through researched historical fiction, of two of the great artists of that genre. A thoroughly enjoyable read!
Simply loved this life story of MONET… but then I so admire his art…I admit to bias.
I hesitated before reading Stephanie Cowell’s Claude and Camille because the genre of Impressionist painter historical fiction had disappointed me thus far (see Luncheon of the Boating Party or The Painted Girls). I needn’t have worried; a bit like Monet himself, Claude and Camille is in a class by itself when it comes to this genre.
As any enterprising reader might guess from the title, Claude and Camille is the story of the see-sawing, ultimately tragic relationship between Claude Monet and his first wife, Camille Doncieux. As Wikipedia will tell you in a matter of seconds, she died at 32 of cancer, so no spoilers to say there’s no happily ever after here. What Cowell does well, she does very well indeed, and that is to improvise. As she notes in the afterward, the historical record contains very little about Camille, and so Cowell was able to invent a story, populated by real people, artists mainly, and events, but largely of her own invention. What she has created is lovely.
One of the strong suits is the way Cowell incorporates painting, as a noun but especially as a verb, into the work. Because she is not overly constrained by facts, she is free to get into Monet’s head in a way that other works of this genre haven’t done. As a result, Monet’s paintings are sprinkled throughout, while the act of paining, as important and life-giving to Monet as breathing, dominates. Too, I was struck by the way in which she situated Monet in the spaces where he created so many masterpieces, and that his lily pads were not the centerpiece. The church, the haystacks, London in the fog: I could picture Monet’s paintings through Cowell’s carefully chosen words, which were frequently no more than allusions.
Readers who love the arts, and especially Impressionism, will be smitten. Those who are iffy on the subject may well like Claude and Camille well enough, but I’m a little more hesitant to recommend it to that crowd.
(This review was originally published at https://www.thisyearinbooks.com/2018/01/claude-and-camille.html)
I always was a fan of Claude Monet, the reason I started to paint myself.This novel about the life and tragic relationship between Monet and his love and muse Camille is beautifully written, with deep knowledge about art, the era of the great impressionists and the process of painting.
Loved this work.
Loved it! Read it on a flight to France where I got to visit Monet’s garden, home & family graves in Giverny, Camille’s grave in nearby Ventheuil & the Marmatton Monet Museum in Paris. It provided a great historic backdrop to the whole visit & lent a sort of “insiders” sense. The book is well written & very enjoyable. It provides insight into the struggle & intimacy of the group of artists who led the impressionist movement trying to get their work accepted into the Paris salons. If your a fan of Impressionism, you will find this book fascinating.
I recommend it for people who like romantic bio novels
This was a great story of Claude Monet based on a lot of true events. It was especially interesting to read before a trip to Paris and the Musee de l’orangerie.
I loved this book and didn’t want it to end.