Editing Claude Monet (section)

=== Bordighera and a turn to prosperity ===
In December 1883 Claude Monet and Auguste Renoir left Paris by train for a short painting trip to Italy, along the Italian Riviera and to Genoa.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wildenstein |first=Daniel |title=Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné. Letter to De Bellio |date=1979 |publisher=Wildenstein-Plattner-Institute |publication-date=1979 |pages=232 |language=French}}</ref>

On the way back, Monet and Renoir stopped briefly at l´Estaque, near Marseille, to visit Cézanne, before returning to Giverny late December. During this trip Monet discovered the small town of Bordighera which he found particularly attractive: in a letter to Durand-Ruel on January 12, 1884, he described it as “one of the most beautiful places we saw on our trip”<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Wildenstein |first=Daniel |title=Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné. |date=1979 |publisher=The Wildenstein-Plattner-Institute |publication-date=1979 |pages=232 |language=French}}</ref>

In the years leading up to 1883, Bordighera, with its mild climate and stunning coastal views, had become widely popular as a winter destination for tourists, particularly among the European elite as well as artists and intellectuals. One of the town's main attractions were the [[Moreno Gardens]] which, in tourist guidebooks of that time, were described not only as one of the most attractive and delightful locations of the Mediterranean, but also as some of the most beautiful and renowned gardens in Europe.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Palmiro |first=Premoli |title=L'italia Geographica Illustrata |date=1891 |publisher=Nabu Press |language=Italian}}</ref> Earlier in 1883 the famous architect [[Charles Garnier (architect)|Charles Garnier]] wrote a piece in a travel book called Artistic features of Bordighera. In the first chapter, he claims that “in truth, Bordighera is far less Italy than Palestine…” referring to the old town, the free growing palm trees and the exotic gardens. In his text Garnier recommends eight point of views which he finds most interesting for any artist to paint.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hamilton |first=Frederick Fitzroy |title=Bordighera and the Western Riviera |date=1883 |publisher=Edward Standford |isbn=1120267943 |location=London |language=English}}</ref>

Soon after his return to Giverny, Monet wrote to his art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel expressing his desire to go back to Italy and Bordighera for a longer stay. He put forward his desire to go on his own and asked Durand-Ruel not to mention his wish to anyone, especially not to Renoir.<ref name=":6" />  Monet initially intended to spend three weeks in the Ligurian town but ended up staying for a period of almost three months, from January 18 to April 5, during which he produced thirty-eight paintings with Bordighera motifs.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wildenstein |first=Daniel |title=Monet. The triumph of impressionism. |date=2015 |publisher=TASCHEN |isbn=9783836551014 |location=Germany |pages=241–243 |language=English}}</ref> Monet was deeply affected by the beauty of Bordighera and its surroundings, which he described as magic - a fairy tale country.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wildenstein |first=Daniel |title=Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné. Letter to A Duret. |date=1979 |publisher=The Wildenstein-Plattner-Institute |pages=235 |language=French}}</ref>  The unique light and luxuriant vegetation presented themselves as a completely new challenge. In a letter to Alice Horschedé, he wrote “These palm trees are exasperating, and also the motifs are extremely difficult to render, to put down on canvas, everything is so lush”.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wildenstein |first=Daniel |title=Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné. |date=1979 |publisher=The Wildenstein-Plattner-Institute |pages=232 |language=French}}</ref>

During his sojourn in Bordighera Monet had initially intended to paint “orange and lemon trees against the blue sea” but he could not find any that really pleased him therefore he only produced one painting with a citrus tree motif, ''Under the Lemon Trees''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Daneo |first=Angelica |title=Claude Monet. The truth of nature. |date=2020 |publisher=Prestel |isbn=9783791379258 |location=USA |pages=44 |language=English}}</ref> During his stay in Bordighera, Monet went to nearby Dolceaqua where he painted the bridge which he called “a little gem of elegance”.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wildenstein |first=Daniel |title=Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné. |date=1979 |publisher=The Wildenstein-Plattner-Institute |language=French}}</ref>

Some of the most notable compositions from his stay in Bordighera are ''View of Bordighera'', ''Olive Trees'', ''Villas at Bordighera'', ''The Moreno Garden'', ''Valley of Sasso'' and ''Dolceacqua''.

The Bordighera paintings are not so well known to the public as some of his work. One explanation presented<ref>{{Cite web |last=Langlais |first=Pandora |title=The reception of the Riviera paintings |url=https://wpi.art/2019/07/24/claude-monets-encounter-with-the-mediterranean-part-2/ |access-date=14 November 2024 |website=wpi.art The Wildenstein Plattner Institute}}</ref> is that following the Paris Stock market crash of 1882 Monet's art dealer Durand-Ruels suffered a severe financial loss and consequently, he had to pawn several of Monet's Bordighera paintings as soon as he had received them.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wildenstein |first=Daniel |title=Monet. The triumph of impressionism |date=2015 |publisher=TASCHEN |isbn=9783836551014 |location=Germany |pages=218–219 |language=English}}</ref> Monet, who had been eager to hear what critics would say about his latest work, was devastated when he found out that they would never be exhibited. Eventually, after Durand-Ruel left for the United States in 1886, Monet could only express his utter frustration by writing letters where he accused the dealer of being “only concerned with the United States while we (the Impressionists) are being forgotten in France”.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wildenstein |first=Daniel |title=Claude Monet: Biographie et catalogue raisonné. Letter to Durand-Ruel |date=1979 |publisher=The Wildenstein-Plattner-Institute |pages=271 |language=French}}</ref>

Finally leaving Bordighera, Monet stopped in Menton to paint the Cap Martin and Monte Carlo before embarking on the 24 hour trip back to Giverny.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wildenstein |first=Daniel |title=Monet. The Triumph of Impressionism |date=2015 |publisher=TASCHEN |isbn=9783836551014 |location=Germany |publication-date=2015 |pages=248–252 |language=English}}</ref>

In a letter sent to Monet in 1884, [[Paul Durand-Ruel]] mentions Monet's financial worries, and tells him that both the stockbroker Theodore-Charles Gadala and Georges Clemenceau have purchased paintings.<ref>Paul Durand-Ruel, "Letter to Claude Monet", Correspondence with Claude Monet, May–November 1884, accessed March 29, 2024.</ref> Monet's struggles with creditors ended following his prosperous trips; to Bordighera in 1884,<ref name=":4" />{{Sfn|Januszczak|1985|p=258}} and to the Netherlands in 1886 to paint the tulips. He soon met and became friends with [[Gustave Geffroy]], who published an article on Monet.<ref name=":4" /> Despite his qualms, Monet's paintings were sold in America and contributed towards his financial security.<ref name=":11" /> In contrast to the last two decades of his career, Monet favoured working alone—and felt that he was always better when he did, having regularly "long[ed] for solitude, away from crowded tourist resorts and sophisticated urban settings".<ref name=":15" />{{Sfn|Januszczak|1985|p=258}} Such a desire was recurrent in his letters to Alice.<ref name=":15" />{{Sfn|Bailey|Rishel|Rosenthal|1989|pp=54}}

<gallery widths="180" heights="150" perrow="4" caption="Paintings 1873–1886">
File:Effet de Brouillard by Claude Monet.jpg|''Effet de Brouillard'', {{Circa|1872}}
File:Claude Monet, 1873, Camille Monet on a Bench, oil on canvas, 60.6 x 80.3 cm, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.jpg|''Camille Monet on a Garden Bench'', 1873, [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], New York
File:Claude Monet - The Seine at Argenteuil 1873.jpg|''The Seine at Argenteuil'', 1873
File:Claude Monet - The Artist's House at Argenteuil.jpg|''The Artist's House at Argenteuil'', 1873, [[Art Institute of Chicago]]
File:Claude Monet 037.jpg|''Coquelicots, La promenade (Poppies)'', 1873, [[Musée d'Orsay]], Paris
File:Pont Argenteuil Monet 1.jpg|''Argenteuil'', 1874, [[National Gallery of Art]], Washington D.C.
File:Claude Monet The Studio Boat.jpg|''The Studio Boat'', 1874, [[Kröller-Müller Museum]], Otterlo, Netherlands
File:Claude Monet Camille au métier.jpg|''Camille au métier'', 1875, [[Barnes collection]]
File:Claude Monet - Woman with a Parasol - Madame Monet and Her Son - Google Art Project.jpg|''[[Woman with a Parasol - Madame Monet and Her Son]]'', 1875, [[National Gallery of Art]], Washington D.C.
File:Claude Monet-Madame Monet en costume japonais.jpg|''[[La Japonaise (painting)|Madame Monet in a Japanese Kimono]]'', 1876, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
File:Claude Monet Le bateau atelier.jpg|''[[The Studio Boat (Le Bateau-atelier)|Le Bateau-atelier]]'', 1876, [[Barnes collection]]
File:Claude Monet - Flowered Riverbank, Argenteuil.jpg|''Flowers on the Riverbank at Argenteuil'', 1877, [[Pola Museum of Art]], Japan
File:Monet - Vetheuil im Nebel.jpg|''Vétheuil in the Fog'', 1879, [[Musée Marmottan Monet]], Paris
File:The Thaw at Vétheuil - Monet - Thyssen Museum.jpg|''The Thaw at Vétheuil'', 1880, [[Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum]], Madrid
File:La Falaise à Fécamp - Claude Monet - ABDAG003046.jpg|''La Falaise à Fécamp'', 1881, [[Aberdeen Art Gallery]]
File:Claude Monet 023.jpg|''Study of a Figure Outdoors: Woman with a Parasol, Facing Left'', ([[Suzanne Hoschedé]]), 1886, [[Musée d'Orsay]]
File:Claude Monet - Villas at Bordighera - Google Art Project.jpg|Villas In Bordighera, 1884. [[Musée d'Orsay|Musée d´Orsay Paris]]
File:View of Bordighera 1884 Chicago Art Institute.jpg|View of Bordighera, 1884. [[Art Institute of Chicago|Chicago Art Institute]]
File:Moreno Garden Bordighera 1884 - The Norton Museum Miami Florida.jpg|Moreno Garden Bordighera, 1884. [[Norton Museum of Art|The Norton Museum]], Miami.
File:Olive trees study, 1884 - Claude Monet, Private Collection.jpg|Olive trees study Bordighera 1884. Private Collection.
</gallery>