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Carla Rachman's clear and engaging account offers an accessible introduction to Claude Monet's life and art, analysing the works themselves and also the social basis for the shifts in taste and the changing political and economic forces within Monet's lifetime. The artist's personal life and his relations with dealers, patrons, critics and institutions are seen as formative influences on his work. The book traces critical reaction to Monet's work from the early years, which were marked by clashes with conventional artistic values, to the present, in which Monet's vision of the world has gained popularity with the public at large.