Monet's Table: The Cooking Journals of Claude Monet

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Description: One of the most influential painters of modem times, Claude Monet lived for half his life in the famous house at Givemy. It was after moving here in 1883 with his future second wife, Alice Hoschede, and their eight children that Monet's work finally achieved recognition. His growing success meant that he was able to indulge his passion for comfort and good living. 

Family meals, special celebrations, luncheons with friends, picnics: all reflected the Monets' love of good food. Just as the inspiration for many of Monet's paintings was drawn from his beloved gardens and the surrounding Normandy landscape, so the meals served at Givemy were based upon superb ingredients from the kitchen-garden (a work of art in itself), the farmyard, and the French countryside.

The recipes collected in his cooking journals include dishes Monet had encountered in his travels or had come across in restaurants he frequented in Paris as well as recipes from friends, such as Cezanne's bouillabaisse and Millet's petits pains. For this book, the author Claire Joyes, wife of Madame Monet's great-grandson, has spent years selecting the Monets' favorite recipes and writing a wonderfully evocative introductory text. All of the recipes have been artfully prepared and brought back to life in Monet's own kitchen by master chef Joel Robuchon. 

Illustrated with sumptuous reproductions of Monet's paintings, spectacular original four-color photographs of Giverny, selected shots of finished dishes, and facsimile pages from the notebooks themselves, this book provides a fascinating and unique insight into the turn-of-the-century lifestyle of one of the world's most celebrated Impressionist painters. 

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Condition: Good condition. Very light shelf wear.