Monet

Many years later he is said to have told his friend Georges Clemenceau how appalled he was to catch himself studying the many different shades of her face and veil and wondering, even in the presence of death, how these might be translated into color values.

Monet’s views present nothing of a factual nature; instead, the depicted objects ignite sensual “sparks” when they are condensed, with their surroundings and mood, into apparitions.

Monet himself said, oddly, that he wished he had been born blind, so as to regain what John Ruskin called the “innocence of the eye,” a perception without an awareness of what things are and what their substance consists of.

I repeat, in my opinion it would be better for both of us if you take the time to think about this matter, then write to me about your plans, so that after thinking things over I can write back to you. Without this our conversation will doubtless end in foolish things being said on both sides. the children send their love. My best, if sad, wishes.

I’m living in a wonderland. I don’t know which way to turn: everything is superb and I want to do everything. So I’m using and wasting lots of paint doing tryouts. It’s terribly difficult, you need a palette made of diamonds and precious stones.