Claude Monet transformed light and colour into art. In 1874 his "Impression, Sunrise" caused uproar among the critics and a revolution in painting. His inventiveness was inexhaustible: with the "Haystacks", "Poplars", "Cathedrals" and, finally, the enchanting "Water-lilies of Givemy", Monet captured light in all its fleeting qualities. At last, almost blind - "I fear the dark more than death"- he feverishly produced near-abstract landscapes of water and reflection, a vision of nature that paved the way for the art of our own day. This book traces his career.