IN MONET'S LIGHT; THEODORE ROBINSON AT GIVERNY.

In the late 1880s, Theodore Robinson was among a group of American painters who visited the small French village of Giverny, where Claude Monet had settled in 1883. One of the few Americans to have direct contact with the most highly acclaimed innovator of French Impressionism, Robinson recast Monet's style in his own terms, and, in doing so, established Impressionism in an American vein.
In Monet's Light : Theodore Robinson at Giverny shows how Robinson's close contact with Monet transformed his work over the course of six extended visits to Giverny between 1887 and 1892. During this time Robinson painted some of his finest works, marking his evolution from academic Realism to Impressionism. Not only did he adopt the fresh brushwork and vibrant palette of the new movement, but, like Monet, he became increasingly attuned to the subtle changes in light and color at different moments through the day and under varying atmospheric conditions.
This volume features commentary on Robinson's Giverny works, as well as an examination of Monet's output during this same period, drawing on resources nearly unique in the literature on American Impressionism - Robinson's 1892 article on Monet for Century Magazine, and excerpts from his diary and correspondence with Monet, published here for the first time. Incorporated throughout are period photographs of the village of Giverny and its surroundings, including specific locales painted by the artists.

Sona Johnston is Senior Curator of Painting and Sculpture at The Baltimore Museum of Art