Publisher's Note Throughout his long life, Claude Monet transformed light and color into art by painting outdoors and altering his palette to keep pace with the moving sun. In 1874 his renowned Impression, Sunrise caused an uproar among conservative art critics and a revolution in painting: Impressionism had been born. Here, among more than 225 illustrations, Monet's beloved water lilies are featured in a lavish six-page gatefold, and excerpts from the artist's letters and other writings shed light on his relationships with contemporary figures in the French art and literary worlds.