Everything was now sacrificed to this picture; his little
fortune was gradually encroached on, and his wife and child (he had
married Christine some time after their return to Paris) were frequently
without the necessaries of life. Christine was, however, devoted to her
husband, and did all she could to induce him to leave the picture, which
she saw was increasing his mental disturbance. This was becoming more
serious, and in the death of his child he saw only the subject of a
picture, _L'Enfant Mort_, which was exhibited at the _Salon_ and was
received with even more contempt than _Plein Air_. Despite all the
efforts of Christine, Claude returned to his intended masterpiece, and
one morning, in despair of achieving his aims, hanged himself in front
of the fatal picture.
As a study of artistic life the novel is full of interest. There is
little doubt that the character of Claude Lantier was suggested by that
of Edouard Manet, the founder of the French Impressionist school, with
whom Zola was on terms of friendship. It is also certain that Pierre
Sandoz, the journalist with an idea for a vast series of novels dealing
with the life history of a family, was the prototype of Zola himself.
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