Mornings With Monet by Barb Rosenstock

Claude Monet awakes at 3:30 in the morning, dresses and hurries out of his pink stucco house. He hurries across the road, past the water lily pond to the river where a rowboat awaits. There in the boat is a man from Giverny waiting patiently for Monet. He helps him settle and they paddle along the river to Monet's boat which serves as his studio. This river, called the Seine has been a part of Monet's entire life, flowing through cities and regions he has lived in.

With the help of the man, he unloads fourteen paintings of the river that he is working on. This is Monet's second summer working on the river. This boat is his second studio boat. His first was purchased many years ago when he was part of a group of artists that included Renoir, Degas, Pissarro, Sisley and Morisot. Their work was dismissed because they used bright colours and their paintings were impressions of scenes and people. Now, art dealers and collectors wait to see what new art Monet will create.

Monet sits on his boat, canvas in front of him, waiting for the light of the dawn. As the first few rays of light break through, he begins painting, using purple, bright greens, lavender. He is "painting the river's colors, and the air around the colors" But as the sun continues to rise, the colors change and he moves to the next canvas. More minutes pass, and another canvas with a different palette. Once the morning is gone, Monet packs up his paints and his canvases. They row back to the shore and Monet walks back home, around the lily pond. Breakfast awaits him!

Discussion

This exquisite picture book portrays Claude Monet as he works on one of his "series" artworks. Monet's series consisted of groups of paintings done on the same subject or scene at different times of the day, or in different weather and light conditions. In Mornings With Monet, Monet's  Mornings on the Seine series, which he began in 1896 but was not able to complete until 1897 due to poor weather, are portrayed. Monet would arise at an early hour in order to paint the landscape along the Seine River near Giverny, as the light changed throughout the morning. This was done from a boat Monet had converted into an art studio. The Mornings on the Seine series consisted of fifteen panels which were eventually exhibited in Paris to great acclaim.

In Mornings With Monet, Rosenstock has captured Claude Monet's process which began with his arising early before dawn, and then rowing to his boat with his helper. There, each canvas was laid out for him to work on and as the light changed, he would move on to the next canvas. Rosenstock informs  her young readers that Monet's work was hard, trying to capture light and colour: "Painting the river's colors, and the air around the colors. Money wipes his brow; it is not easy to paint air. " 

 

Illustrator, Mary Grandpre succeeds in capturing what these mornings might have looked like. She uses impressionistic style for some of her illustrations on the river, while other panels such as Monet at home, are more realistic. All make use of the greens, blues, yellows and purples so common to Monet's work and capture some of his style and the atmosphere of the river in the early morning light. The artwork was created using acrylic paint and ink on illustration board.

Rosenstock also mentions Monet's relationship to nature, how he was connected to the Seine, a river that played a part in different times of his life. Monet is quoted as saying that "La nature ne s'arrete pas." or Nature does not stop. This seems to be the driving force behind his series - to capture nature, as light and weather change. 

Mornings With Monet is a beautiful picture book that delightfully captures a special part of Claude Monet's life. The author has included an interesting and informative Author's Note at the back along with a list of Sources.

Book Details:

Mornings with Monet by Barb Rosenstock
New York: Alfred A. Knopf      2021