Author Description

J.M.W. Turner, James McNeill Whistler, and Claude Monet created some of the most poetic landscapes of the 19th century. This beautiful book, which accompanies a major traveling exhibition, follows the three artists from the Thames to the Seine to the Venetian lagoon and is the first to explore the relationships among their works. Friends, collaborators, and rivals, Monet and Whistler adopted and built on themes first developed by Turner, including the creation of a series of views of the same landscape under different lighting and climatic conditions. Their attempts to imitate in oil the effects that Turner had achieved in watercolor and pastel transformed their style and would prove to be highly influential. In addition, they were inspired by Turner to seek beauty in the modern urban environment. In doing so, they created visionary works that contributed to Impressionism and Symbolism, and remain among the most beloved landscapes of the 19th century.