Enchanting madness. Claude Monet and water lilies

By 1914, the noisy battles that marked the emergence of a rebellious group of Impressionist artists had long become history, and the young rebels who provoked them - those who had not yet left this world - had turned into venerable patriarchs of French painting. Claude Monet, who was 73 years old, settled in Giverny, where he created his own personal paradise garden with man-made ponds and hybrid lilies. French newspapers informed readers that the renowned master had retired. Yet the newspapers were quick to write Monet off. Despite personal and global catastrophes, despite health issues, self-doubt, and his advanced age, the artist embarked on the realization of the most ambitious artistic project of his entire career - a grand cycle of landscapes with water lilies.