The positive effect of the drops was, not surprisingly, short-lived. The drops have permitted me to paint good things rather than the bad paintings which I had persisted in making when seeing nothing but fog.’ 6 I have not seen so well for a long time, so much so that I regret not having seen you sooner. Before a week was up, Monet wrote enthusiastically to Coutela: 6 As Monet was still reluctant to undergo surgery, Coutela prescribed mydriatics in the hope of allowing more light to pass through his cataractous lens. In 1922, Monet consulted another ophthalmologist, Charles Coutela, who recorded a visual acuity of PL (light perception only) on the right, and 6/60 on the left.
‘I prefer to make the most of my poor sight, and even give up painting if necessary, but at least be able to see a little of these things that I love.’ 5
Frightened, however, by the fate of his fellow artists Honoré Daumier and Mary Cassatt, whose cataract operations had been unsuccessful, Monet was adamant to avoid surgery at all costs. Archives Durand-Ruel © Durand-Ruel & Cie.Īfter Monet became increasingly despondent and less productive, Georges Clemenceau, former French prime minister and physician, urged his friend to consider cataract surgery.
Germaine Hoschedé, Lili Butler, Mme Joseph Durand-Ruel, Georges Durand-Ruel, Claude Monet at the water lily pond in Giverny, 1900.
0 kommentar(er)
