service, Monet entered the Paris studio of Charles Gleyre in 1862, where
he met Renoir and Sisley. These three were among, the painters who would
become known as Impressionists.
Our ¿ rst example shows Terrace at Saint-Adresse (1867), which was painted
during a period when poverty forced Monet to live with his family, now at
Ste. Adresse on the coast, while his mistress, Camille, was in Paris expecting
their child. The painting looks down from a high point of view and is divided
into three broad bands of land, sea, and sky, pinned together by the two
À agpoles. We see a beautiful À ower garden and a wonderful parasol, like a
blossom itself, in the bottom center. Monet’s talent exploded at this time, and
he turned out some of his most gorgeous paintings, including The Magpie
(1869). This is a brilliant painting of white on white—snow and sunlight.
On July 19, 1870, France declared war on Prussia, an act of foolishness on
the part of Emperor Napoleon III that led to catastrophe. The ¿ rst phase of the
war lasted only six weeks; the French were defeated in several major battles,
and the emperor was captured at Sedan on September 2. On September 4,
the Assembly removed the emperor from of¿ ce and set up a republic and a
provisional government. On September 19, 1870, the siege of Paris began. In
December, the French government removed to Bordeaux.
In January 1871, the Prussians defeated the French in several battles. On
January 28, Paris surrendered, and an armistice was established; in February,
the new Assembly came under conservative domination. March 18, 1871
saw a revolt in Paris and the start of the Paris Commune. The government
moved to Versailles, from which a new siege of Paris was directed, this time
by French troops in cooperation with the Prussians. During the two months
of the Commune, France ceded Alsace and Lorraine to Prussia. We see The
Burning of Paris (1871) from this period.
The Commune was more than the ¿ nal phase of the Franco-Prussian
debacle; it was the origin of a lasting national trauma. As we see in this
photo, the Assassination of the Hostages (1871), the Communards publicly
assassinated their hostages, among whom was the archbishop of Paris. But
it was the citizens of Paris who suffered most: About 20,000 supporters of
the Commune were killed, and 7,500 were later deported. The revolt ended