Claude Monet, Annotated Bibliography Example

A&E Television Networks. “The Impressionists: Claude Monet.” 2007. Biography.com. 15 October 2010 <http://www.biography.com/impressionists/monet-bio.jsp>.

Biography’s Claud Monet site features a short and succinct biography of the artist. It is accompanied by a quiz and an interactive tour of one of his paintings. The site provides the reader with some of the most interesting facts about Monet’s life, including details about his military service and his relationship to other artists. Although the biography provided here is somewhat brief, it provides a great number of starting points that will help in later research. Because the site is maintained by Biography and A&E, it is full of well known and reputable information. Since Biography’s shows and materials are viewed by thousands, its errors do not often go unnoticed.

Benfey, Christopher. “Still Waters: Monet’s late works run surprisingly deep.” 24 September 1998. Slate. 15 October 2010 <http://www.slate.com/default.aspx?id=2929>.

This article was particularly interesting because it contained first-hand observations of some of Monet’s original artwork. It also described the ways in which Monet’s artwork changed and developed over time. Finally, it includes gripping descriptions of some of the tragedies in the artist’s life. Slate is a well-known and often read publication. Although it may be a bit politically biased, its pieces on history are quite good. There is nothing like a good eyewitness account.

Britisih Broacasting Corporation. “Claude Monet (1840-1926).” BBC. 15 October 2010 <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/monet_claude.shtml>.

There is relatively little material on this site, but what is there is of great importance. The page contains information about Monet’s early life, family, marriage and death. It also hosts a picture of the artist himself. The BBC has one of the best reputations in news. It’s expertise on history is well known. Therefore, information gleaned from the BBC’s descriptions of Monet are quite credible indeed.

Cauderlier, A. “Welcome to Claude Monet’s.” 23 May 2010. Giverny and Vernon: In The Heart of Impressionism. 15 October 2010 <http://giverny.org/monet/welcome.htm>.

This site is centered around Monet’s hometown of Giverny.  It contains biographical information from Monets birth to his death, descriptions of the museums where Monet’s work is displayed and even a link to a humorous collection of Monet’s own memories. Also included on this page are links to articles about Monet’s life and methods. The site is run by Givernet, who I had never before heard of. Givernet claims to be “a non-for-profit organisation dedicated to promoting cultural, artistic, touristic and cybernetic activities of the Seine Valley.” Because the organization is a non-profit, it has little to gain by posting false information. However, because it is not as well known as some of the other sources, readers might look at it with a little more skepticism.

Gedo, Mary Matthews. Monet and His Muse: Camille Monet in The Artist’s Life. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2010.

This book delves into the most intimate details of Monet’s life. It touches on everything from the affect of Monet’s mothers death on him to his relationship with the various women in his life.  Gedo tries to anaylze Monet’s psychology, years after the fact. Because Gedo seems to approach Monet’s life with the agenda of a feminist and a psychologist, her ideas may be less credible than others. Yet, if the reader looks past that agenda, this book contains a wealth of important biographical detail.

Heinrich, Christoph. Claude Monet, 1840-1926 (Basic Art). New York: Taschen, 2000.

This book is particularly useful because of the quality of the pictures it contains.Particularly interesting in this work was the author’s decision to group Monet’s work according to the places he visited. It shows how Monet used different techniques to capture the places he visited during his travels. It also contains photographs of Monet that give some insight into his personality. Dr. Cristoph Heinrich may be one of the most credible and authoritative sources included in this biography. He is the curator of modern and contemporary art at The Denver Art Museum.

Michelle, Mike. Claud Monet: His Complete Works. 2010. 15 October 2010 http://www.claudemonetgallery.org/.

The best thing about this site is that it attempts to provide the viewer photographs of every single one of Monet’s paintings. It includes 1338 of them in thumbnail form, but each pictures can be enlarged. Along with the paintings, the authors have included relevant information about Monet’s life. The author of this site is relatively unknown, so it is hard to say how credible his information is. However, the main value in this site is it’s display of Monet’s paintings, which are unaffected by Michelle’s obscurity.

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. “Monet and The Impressionists.” 17 May 2009. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Website. 15 October 2010 <http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/exhibitions/monet/Default.aspx>.

This site provides pictures and descriptions of the Te Papa Museum’s Monet exhibition. It contains valuable chronological information about Monet’s life and career. It shows how wide-ranging his influence was and speaks of the influence of Japanese art on his work. Because this is the official site of the Te Papa Tongarewa Museum, the information contained in its pages seems quite credible. Much of it is based on viewing Monet’s original works.

Pioch, Nicolas. “Monet, Claude .” 19 September 2002. WebMuseum, Paris. 15 October 2010 <http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/monet/>.

This is one of the most well-organized Monet web sites on the web. The first page contains a summary of the artist’s life along with links to paintings that exemplify different periods in the artist’s life. Because The WebMuseum is an internet source, it might not look as credible as a book that has gone to press. However, The WebMuseum has been around since before 1994 when the Internet was still young. This, I think, lends some credibility to it .

Tucker, Paul Hayes. Claude Monet: Life and Art. New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 1998.

This book provides a very thorough Biography of Monet. It contains wonderful illustrations of some of his rare works, along with stories that place them in context. Particularly excellent in this volume was the description of Monet’s experiences in the Giverny Gardens.  The book is written by Professor Paul Hayes Tucker who is a Monet Expert. He has written several other pieces on Monet’s life and has been teaching history since the late 70s at the University of Massachusets, Boston. Time Magazine has recognized him as “One of America’s foremost authorities on Claude Monet and Impressionism.”

Wildenstein, Daniel. Monet or The Triumph of Impressionalism. New York: Taschen, 2003.

This volume contains some of the most detailed descriptions of Monet’s life and work that are available to the public.  Wildenstein describes everything from Monet’s conflicts to his seascapes. What is even more valuable is that Wildenstein includes many quotes from Monet himself. What makes Wildenstein’s perspective both credible and valuable is that he was a former art dealer and is a current art scholar. He is recognized as one of the most knowledgeable impressionist scholars in America.