After a long search for a subject for a picture which
was to be his masterpiece, Claude selected a stretch of the river near
Notre Dame, and into this he intended to put all those new theories
of art with which he hoped to revolutionize the world. Everything was
sacrificed to this picture; the small fortune left him by his early
benefactor was gradually realized to provide food, and when it was
exhausted there was little but starvation for the artist and his
dependants. The work was begun in a frenzy of genius, but was constantly
interrupted by doubts and indecision; it became a monomania, and under
its influence Claude's mind gradually became unhinged; the family virus
was at last showing itself. Christine was wholly taken up with her
husband, and their child died of an illness due greatly to neglect. By
this time Claude was incapable of any real feeling save for art, and
the death of his child only served to give him a subject for a picture.
Having torn himself away from his intended masterpiece for a time, he
painted _L'Enfant Mort_, which was exhibited in the _Salon_, and met
with an even more contemptuous reception from the public than his _Plein
Air_.
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