I've never seen such changeable conditions and I had over 15 canvases under way, going from one to the other and back again, and it was never quite right; a few unfortunate brushstrokes and in the end I lost my nerve and in a temper I packed everything away in crates with no further desire to look out of the window, knowing full well that in this mood I'd only mess things up and all the paintings I'd done were awful, and perhaps they are, more than I suppose.

Quote of Monet, ca. 1900, London; as quoted in: K.E. Sullivan. Monet: Discovering Art, Brockhampton press, London (2004), p. 72 - 1900–1920