HARTFORD, CT.- The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art presents In Monet’s Light: Theodore Robinson at Giverny, on view through September 4, 2005. In the late 1880s, Theodore Robinson (1852-1896) was among the first of a group of American painters to visit the small village of Giverny in the Norman countryside of France, where Claude Monet (1840-1926) settled in 1883. One of the few Americans to have direct contact with the most highly acclaimed innovator of French Impressionism, Robinson recast Monet’s style in his own terms, and, in doing so, established Impressionism in an American vein.

In Monet's Light: Theodore Robinson at Giverny shows how Robinson's close contact with Monet transformed his work over the course of six extended sojourns in Giverny from the spring of 1887 through the end of 1892. During this time Robinson painted some of his finest works, marking his evolution from academic Realism to Impressionism. Notations in his personal diary and letters to friends record frequent visits to the French master's home. Not only did Robinson adopt the fresh brushwork and vibrant palette of the new movement but, like Monet, he became increasingly attuned to the subtle changes in light and color at different moments of the day and under varying atmospheric conditions.

Robinson's finest works, featuring breathtaking views of the village in every season, and charming portraits of local villagers amongst the picturesque architecture, are shown alongside comparative works by Monet, including views of his signature series of haystacks and the Rouen Cathedral.