marked a return to financial insecurity for Monet and it was only the intercession of Manet (once a critic, now a friend) that allowed Monet to remain at Argenteuil. In an attempt to recoup some of his losses, Monet made a sale of his paintings at the Hotel Drouot. This, too, was a complete failure. These setbacks demonstrate a remarkable quality about the painter. Despite almost constant rejection and financial uncertainty, Monet's paintings never became morose or even, really, all that somber. Instead, Monet immersed himself in the task of perfec ting a style which still had not been accepted by the world at large. His rendering of the quiver of light in the expanse of space reached its chromatic fullness...he replaced his technique of broad modulations with a kind of pictorial granulation. Never fully content, Monet went to Dieppe, Pourville and Varengeville-sur-Mer. His first wife Camille died in 1882, and in 1883 Monet finally settled in Giverny where he remained until his death. This geographical constant was coupled with the disintegration of the group of impressionists. Other influences and groups presented themselves and, gradually, each of the painters drifted away to pursue their own styles. Among the newcomers was Vincent van GoghIn 1892 Monet married Alice Hoschede, with whom he had had an affair during his marriage to Camille. In that year he painted his series Rouen Cathedral, noticing how every aspect of the scene was altered in accordance with the changing light. This realization was to become an obsession in his later years. At last, Monet gained renown. He knew several important people and he became financially secure for the first time in his life. With this new-found luxury, Monet devoted himself to gardening which, in turn, provided a motif for the painter's last important work, the water lilies . Monet was absorbed in this project almost exclusively from 1900 until his death, ...stripping it of objective solidity ...
