In Monet´s Light: Theodore Robinson in Giverny

The book explores Theodore Robinson´s (1854-96) paintings that he produced while he was at Giverny, France in the late 1880s and early 1890s. Robinson was among a number of American painters who began to visit the small hamlet of Giverny on the Seine River where Claude Monet had settled in 1883. Working in this picturesque village from 1887 to 1892, Robinson adopted the master´s vibrant palette and fresh brushwork. He also pursued Monet´s rigorous practice of exploring subjects in series and, like his mentor, concentrated on recording aspects of the particular locale where he lived and worked. The book looks closely at American Impressionism through the lens of a single distinguished career and compares the American style to its French inspiration. It becomes apparent how Robinson´s close contact with Monet transformed his work, which had been firmly rooted in the American Realist tradition. The book shows how Robinson absorbed and translated Monet´s working method, style and subject matter, and demonstrates how Robinson conveyed Impressionism to America.