This text provides an understanding of the life and work of Claude Monet and the myth of the modern artist. Levine analyzes the extensive critical reception of Monet and the artist's own writings in the context of the story of Narcissus, popular in late 19th-century France. Through a balance of psychoanalytical theory and historical study, he identifies narcissism and obsession as driving forces in Monet's art and demonstrates how meaning is derived from the accumulated responses to the work.