Hailed the Prince of the Impressionists , Claude Monet (1840-1926) transformed expectations for the purpose of paint on canvas. Defying the precedent of centuries, Monet did not seek to render only reality, but the act of perception itself. Working en plein air with rapid, impetuous brushstrokes, he interrogated the play of light on the hues, patterns, and contours and the way in which these visual impressions fall upon the eye.