Claude Monet

The name of Claude Monet and Impressionism are nearly synonymous. It was after all, one of his paintings that gave the movement its title, and he was the most consistent, the most prolific and the most uncompromising of his generation. There was never enough of anything for him: enough of the right quality of light, enough money, enough time, enough appreciation.

To be a friend of Monet in the early days meant a drain on one's financial and emotional resources, as the kindly Bazille discovered. However, in the last few decades of world-wide success, the once impecunious painter of 'tongue-lickings' was fetching thousands of dollars for his paintings, and he always made sure he got the right price.