0047 Claude Monet, mentor ou repoussoir de la génération néo-impressionniste?

Abstract

Was Monet the father of neo-impressionism? This article investigates the various answers that have been offered to this important and controversial question by examining the relationships – actual and purported ones – between Claude Monet and the neo-impressionists, notably Georges Seurat and Paul Signac. It discusses the significance that impressionism, with its striving for spontaneity and its subjective approach to landscape, had for the young painters. A close reading of Signac's letters to Monet suggests an amicable relationship between these two artists. Moreover, significant artistic parallels can be observed between Monet's painting and that of Seurat and Signac, especially with regard to the element of seriality. Finally, the article highlights the reception of Monet's paintings by the neo-impressionists, notably of his Rouen Cathedral series in 1895.