Monet paints at Camille's deathbed, and Lee Chan Won has questions

Monet, Who Never Put Down His Brush Even at His Wife's Deathbed

Episode 64 of KBS 2TV's 'Secret of Celebrity Soldiers,' airing Tuesday, July 14 at 8:30 PM, shines a light on the life of Impressionist master Claude Monet. Art history lecturer Lee Chang-yong will appear on the broadcast to explain Monet's eye disease and the resulting changes in his painting style.

The true focal point is Monet's almost cruel artistic obsession. Monet met his first wife, Camille, as a model and painter; choosing love, he gave up financial support and once suffered through extreme poverty. Most notably, even during Camille's final moments, Monet kept his eyes fixed on the canvas. The cast, including Lee Chan Won, was shocked by how he held his brush until the very end, observing the minute changes in color appearing on his wife's face.

"Is this not a transfer relationship?" The connection that stirred Lee Chan Won and Shin Seul-ki

Suspicions surrounding Monet's interpersonal relationships will also be addressed. While Camille was bedridden, Alice, the wife of patron Ernest Hoschedé, lived in Monet's house with her six children. After Camille's death, doubts were raised about the relationship between the two when it was revealed that Alice burned all of Camille's belongings.

At this point, actress Shin Seul-ki reacted by asking, "Is this not a transfer relationship?" Lee Chan Won also stirred the studio by mentioning, "I suspect one of those six children might have been Monet's child."

Sublimating the trials of cataracts into the 'Water Lilies' series

Cataracts, which arrived after he gained fame, were a great ordeal for Monet. Even amidst the illness, which brought glare and color distortion, Monet showed his resolve, stating, "Even if I lose all my sight, I want to keep painting what I have seen until the end."

He worked in front of the pond in the Giverny garden for about 20 years, completing approximately 250 pieces in the 'Water Lilies' series. He even expressed the symptoms caused by his cataracts—such as the world appearing blue or shapes appearing distorted—through unique colors. His representative works, such as 'Impression, Sunrise,' 'Rouen Cathedral,' and 'Water Lilies,' vividly contain the color palettes that changed according to his condition.

At Monet's funeral in 1926, when he passed away at the age of 86, his friend Clemenceau paid his final respects to the painter who loved light by covering the coffin with floral fabric instead of a black shroud.