Claude Monet was not as prolific painter of self-portraits as some painters like e.g. Vincent Van Gogh, Frida Kahlo and Rembrandt. However, luckily other painters stepped in to contribute to the immortalization of Monet’s likeness. Among these, we find Renoir’s “Claude Monet Reading”. Painted by Renoir in 1872, it shows Monet reading the newspaper while smoking his pipe. Monet is well dressed in dark jacket and a hat, with a white shirt visible under his jacket. The year of the painting, 1872, is the same year that Monet painted Impression Sunrise but before it was exhibited and before the impressionist movement had really taken shape. The painting was thus made before the true artistic breakthrough of Monet himself, while he was staying in Argenteuil on the outskirts of Paris. Some of Monet’s memorable early works like Argenteuil and Woman with a Parasol was also painted while he stayed there. The depiction is an uncanny Renoir with all the characteristics of Impressionist painting. We see the fine but visible brush strokes, the focus on color over line, the depiction of light and the strait forward motive. The excellent depiction in Claude Monet Reading offers a glimpse of Monet the Man in the days before his career really took off. The painting can today be found at the Musee Marmotten in Paris, France.
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