Alice Hoschedé: A Complex Partnership

The presence of Alice Hoschedé and her children in the household at Vétheuil created a complicated situation that would define the rest of Monet's personal life. Alice was the wife of Ernest Hoschedé, a department store owner and art collector who had been one of Monet's early patrons before going spectacularly bankrupt. Abandoned by her husband, Alice had nowhere else to go, and the two families pooled their meager resources.

Alice was everything Camille was not—assertive where Camille was gentle, practical where Camille was dreamy, from the haute bourgeoisie where Camille was working class. She was also deeply religious, cultured, and possessed of remarkable organizational skills. As Camille's health declined, Alice increasingly took charge of the household, caring for all eight children and managing the domestic chaos that surrounded Monet.

After Camille's death, Alice remained, and gradually their relationship evolved from one of convenience to something deeper. For years they maintained the fiction of being merely housemates, mindful of social conventions and Alice's still-existing marriage. Alice's letters from this period reveal a woman torn between her feelings for Claude, her duty to her children, and her religious scruples about their irregular situation.

The relationship was not without its tensions. Alice could be jealous of Camille's memory and sometimes resented the time Claude spent painting. She struggled with his moods and his single-minded dedication to his art. Yet she also provided the stability and support that allowed him to work. She dealt with dealers, managed finances, and created the orderly domestic environment within which Monet's art could flourish.

When Ernest Hoschedé died in 1891, Claude and Alice were finally free to marry, which they did in a quiet ceremony in July 1892. By then they had been together for over a decade, and their blended family had long since fused into a single unit. The marriage brought Alice the respectability she craved and gave Claude the security of a legal union with the woman who had become indispensable to his life and work.