Claude Monet was distressed at losing his ability to see colors.

Claude MONET (1840.1926)

Autographed letter signed to a friend.  

Four octavo pages in grease pencil, on Giverny letterhead paper by Vernon.

Giverny. September 21, 1923.

« All I see are transformed colors. »

A moving letter from the end of life by the Master of Impressionism, written in difficult handwriting, lamenting his deteriorating eyesight following eye surgery in 1923.

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“Dear friend, I have a favor to ask. As you probably know, I had cataract surgery. Three operations, to finally be able to see, but only in white—that is, to read and write. More or less as you see it. It's a result, but it's not enough for a painter. I only see distorted colors , at best nothing but yellow and white. It's awful and makes me sick of seeing. In short, I'm looking for a painter who has had cataract surgery to find out from them if they truly regained their color vision. They want to operate on my other eye. I'm only willing to go through with it if I can find definitive proof of a successful outcome from a fellow painter, because ophthalmologists are hiding behind professional secrecy, which is rather worrying. You see, dear friend, the favor you would be doing me if you could find one among the painters who could reassure me. Thank you in advance and with my warmest regards. Claude Monet.” »

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The first signs of visual deterioration in Monet appeared around 1910. Hindered in his work and worried, Monet, after consulting many specialists, did not want to have an operation, remembering the blindness of Mary Cassatt and that of Honoré Daumier which occurred after the same intervention.

For nearly ten years, Monet continued his work despite the inexorable deterioration of his eyesight. In 1922, a sudden loss of visual acuity in his left eye forced him to undergo surgery; he could no longer paint. Encouraged by Georges Clemenceau, Monet had surgery (on his right eye) in January 1923, performed by Dr. Charles Coutela at the Neuilly-sur-Seine clinic.

The aftermath of the procedure was difficult for the artist, who was disturbed in his vision of colors. Tinted corrective lenses, prescribed by the doctor Jacques Mawas, were therefore necessary for the artist to correct his perception of colors and to once again grasp the full extent of his palette.

Monet would eventually abandon the operation on his second eye.