You had to be really lucky to catch Monet painting at the edge of the woods.

He was a recluse, and more often than not just wanted to be left alone. Monet’s social life existed only because people cared enough to visit him at his house in Giverny. This suited Monet very well. Work-from-home peeps be cheering. If everything could come to you at home, why would you ever want to leave?

John Singer Sargent was a lot more sociable than the Impressionist master. He would vacation with fellow artists, call on them when they’re in the city; he really enjoyed his circle of friends. Sargent could never switch his painter's instinct off. Even on vacations, he would paint his friends, who were often painting their own scenes. 

Monet had lived in Giverny for 43 years. Seeking some peace and quiet, he moved his family to the countryside in 1883. He wasn’t going to find it that easy. Monet’s followers were bound to, well, follow. Artists began streaming into Monet’s chosen village, and to his growing discontent. He complained that he could only paint in the fields very early in the morning saying, “I cannot make a study in the countryside without seeing myself surrounded by the curious.” Celebrity has its downfalls. 

Sargent and Monet were good friends, though. They would write to each other and Sargent would go down to Giverny to paint with Monet. They met in 1876, but they really became bros around the time of this painting, in 1885. Monet stopped going outside to paint as he really didn’t want to meet his fans. But Monet would invite artists he liked hanging out with to paint with him. Sargent was one of the grateful artists allowed into Monet’s home.

In this painting, Monet paints his landscape, while his wife, Alice, sits in the shade. A lot of people talk about Alice being patient and serene. But she is also the woman who was so jealous of Monet’s first wife, Camille, that she destroyed as many pictures of her she could find.

Sargent was completely in awe of the French painter. The American artist would write to him often for advice, praising Monet but also to talk about his own practice and struggles. I guess it really makes a difference when your heroes don’t let you down.