Brush with Greatness

Learn about the amazing life and works of art of Claude Monet as told through the eyes of a (fictitious) train station attendant, Gabriel. Tasked with keeping the area where Monet painted outside of a Paris train station clean, the master painter soon befriended Gabriel, sharing stories from how he would sneak away from school to paint by the ocean, to attending art school, and the impact of meeting artist, Eugene Boudin, had on his painting. He shares how critics of Monet's early, colorful works led him to destroy many of his paintings, from his darker works of what he observed at a Paris train station, to how his return to more colorful pieces and his brushwork led to him being referred to as an impressionist. Beautiful chronologically arranged reproductions of many of his early, and most famous paintings, are featured throughout the book. Content developed for young readers, grades 1-4 (ages 5-8) and is part of the acclaimed Renaissance Accelerated Reader program.