MONET – Century of Change

Museum Barberini & Studio Jot

Author and historian Alice Loxton brings to life the story of one of Europe’s most influential painters: Claude Monet. In this six-part biographical podcast, listeners journey through the pivotal moments of Monet’s life — from personal struggles to creative triumphs. Far from being relics of the past, his conflicts resonate deeply with today’s world: the fragile balance between humanity and nature, sweeping social change, and the enduring tension between war and peace. Surrounded by legend and myth, Monet remains a towering figure in art history. This documentary podcast seeks the truth behind the icon — and explores the final, unanswered questions about the French artist. A production of the Museum Barberini in Potsdam and Studio Jot.

Episodes

  1. 08/21/2025

    Water Lilies and Self-Doubt | 6

    In 1926, Claude Monet dies surrounded by fog — and by doubt. He has painted hundreds of water lilies, but refuses to exhibit them. He nearly abandons his greatest project. What happened to the confidence of France’s most celebrated painter? In this final episode, we follow Monet into seclusion — as his eyesight fails, his temper flares, and his paintings become more radical than ever before. While the world waits outside the gates of Giverny, it is his oldest friend, Georges Clemenceau, who pushes him to finish what he started. Their unlikely bond — between artist and statesman — becomes the reason Monet’s water lilies are ever seen at all. "Monet - Century of Change" is a production by Studio Jot for the Museum Barberini Potsdam. Presenter: Alice Loxton Author: Janis Gebhardt Research: Erwin Hitzler and Max Radestock Sound design: Sufian Auda, Alexander Hemsen and Fabian Klinke Voice direction: Friederike Wigger Executive Producer for Studio Jot: Janis Gebhardt. Producer: Vanessa Neumann and Alex Hemsen Executive Producers for the Museum Barberini: Carolin Stranz and Achim Klapp. A production by Studio Jot for the Museum Barberini Potsdam.

    31 min

  2. 08/14/2025

    Garden Eden | 5

    On September 5, 1879, Claude Monet watches his wife Camille die — and begins to paint her lifeless face. It’s an image that haunts him forever, but also pulls him back to the one thing that might save him: his art. In this episode, Monet loses love but finds unexpected refuge in an unlikely place: a garden in Giverny. As his first wife fades, Alice Hoschedé steps into his life — and together with eight children, they build a new world behind garden walls. Amid grief, scandal, and betrayal, Monet plants his own paradise — and turns flowers, ponds, and sunlight into some of the most iconic paintings ever made. But even as the garden blooms, Monet’s fame grows abroad, and young artists flock to him like pilgrims — inside, he feels lost. Has he finally found peace, or just another illusion?

    28 min

  3. 08/07/2025

    Art and Peace | 4

    In 1868, Claude Monet throws himself into the Seine — but the river doesn’t keep him. Instead, the struggling young father claws his way back to shore and keeps painting. But at what cost? In this episode, Monet battles poverty, scandal, and a war that takes his closest friend Bazille. He escapes to London as Paris burns, finds unlikely allies among fellow exiles like Pissarro, and dreams up a revolution in art: an exhibition without juries or gatekeepers. But when Impression, Sunrise finally shocks the world, the critics laugh, the crowds boo — and Monet’s own circle declares him dead in the papers. As Monet fights to keep his art alive, can he keep himself afloat? "Monet - Century of Change" is a production by Studio Jot for the Museum Barberini Potsdam. Presenter: Alice Loxton Author: Janis Gebhardt Research: Erwin Hitzler and Max Radestock Sound design: Sufian Auda, Alexander Hemsen and Fabian Klinke Voice direction: Friederike Wigger Executive Producer for Studio Jot: Janis Gebhardt. Producer: Vanessa Neumann and Alex Hemsen Executive Producers for the Museum Barberini: Carolin Stranz and Achim Klapp. A production by Studio Jot for the Museum Barberini Potsdam.

    29 min

  4. 07/31/2025

    Flights of Fancy | 3

    When the world says paint the past, Monet turns his back on it — quite literally. In 1867, he sets up his easel on a balcony of the Louvre, Paris behind him, revolution before him. As Haussmann’s boulevards transform the city, Monet dreams of transforming art to match it. In this episode, the stakes grow higher: Monet battles rival Manet for fame, dreams up paintings so massive they break him, and gambles everything on a single portrait of his muse — Camille. Success and scandal walk hand in hand, but when debts rise, friends grow silent, and a child is born into poverty, Monet’s flights of fancy come crashing down. Will he rise again — or drown in the city he painted so brilliantly? "Monet - Century of Change" is a production by Studio Jot for the Museum Barberini Potsdam. Presenter: Alice Loxton Author: Janis Gebhardt Research: Erwin Hitzler and Max Radestock Sound design: Sufian Auda, Alexander Hemsen and Fabian Klinke Voice direction: Friederike Wigger Executive Producer for Studio Jot: Janis Gebhardt. Producer: Vanessa Neumann and Alex Hemsen Executive Producers for the Museum Barberini: Carolin Stranz and Achim Klapp. A production by Studio Jot for the Museum Barberini Potsdam.

    34 min

  5. 07/24/2025

    Friends for Life | 2

    Before Monet painted water lilies, he almost died in the deserts of Algeria. Drafted into a brutal colonial war at just twenty, the young dreamer from Le Havre found himself in a uniform instead of an artist’s smock — until a twist of fate, a stubborn aunt, and a defiant decision brought him back to Paris. This episode dives into Monet’s unlikely escape from the army, the moment Oscar became Claude, and how one fateful friendship changed his path forever. Meet Bazille — the loyal friend, secret patron, and fellow rebel who helped Monet break free from old masters and find new ones in the forests outside Paris. What does it take to defy your father, abandon your teacher, and invent modern art with nothing but an empty wallet and fierce belief in light and nature? "Monet - Century of Change" is a production by Studio Jot for the Museum Barberini Potsdam. Presenter: Alice Loxton Author: Janis Gebhardt Research: Erwin Hitzler and Max Radestock Sound design: Sufian Auda, Alexander Hemsen and Fabian Klinke Voice direction: Friederike Wigger Executive Producer for Studio Jot: Janis Gebhardt. Producer: Vanessa Neumann and Alex Hemsen Executive Producers for the Museum Barberini: Carolin Stranz and Achim Klapp. A production by Studio Jot for the Museum Barberini Potsdam.

    31 min

  6. 07/24/2025

    New Masters | 1

    In 1872, Claude Monet painted Impression, Sunrise — the picture that gave Impressionism its name and changed art forever. But who was the man behind the myth? Genius, braggart, rebel — Monet shaped his own legend and rewrote the rules of what art could be. In this opening episode, we unpack secrets hidden in crates, dig through lock books and stargazers’ notes, and follow young Monet from rebellious schoolboy to the Paris salons that rejected him — until he broke them open. How did a boy sketching caricatures in a seaside town become a master who redefined modern art? Join us on a cinematic journey through the storms, scandals, and strokes of genius that made Monet an icon. "Monet - Century of Change" is a production by Studio Jot for the Museum Barberini Potsdam. Presenter: Alice Loxton Author: Janis Gebhardt Research: Erwin Hitzler and Max Radestock Sound design: Sufian Auda, Fanny Huder, Alexander Hemsen and Fabian Klinke Voice direction: Friederike Wigger Executive Producer for Studio Jot: Janis Gebhardt. Producer: Vanessa Neumann and Alex Hemsen Executive Producers for the Museum Barberini: Carolin Stranz and Achim Klapp. A production by Studio Jot for the Museum Barberini Potsdam.

    33 min

  7. 07/23/2025

    MONET - Century of Change

    Author and historian Alice Loxton presents the biopic of one of Europe's most important painters: Claude Monet. His life is traced in six episodes. His conflicts are by no means out of date. It is about the harmony between man and nature, about major social changes. And it is about war and peace. This is the story of a world-famous man who is surrounded by numerous myths. This documentary podcast finds answers to the last questions about the French artist of the century. "Monet - Century of Change" is a production by Studio Jot for the Museum Barberini Potsdam. Presenter: Alice Loxton Author: Janis Gebhardt Research: Erwin Hitzler and Max Radestock Sound design: Sufian Auda, Fanny Huder, Alexander Hemsen and Fabian Klinke Voice direction: Friederike Wigger Executive Producer for Studio Jot: Janis Gebhardt. Producer: Vanessa Neumann and Alex Hemsen Executive Producers for the Museum Barberini: Carolin Stranz and Achim Klapp. A production by Studio Jot for the Museum Barberini Potsdam.

    2 min

Trailer

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6 Ratings

About

Author and historian Alice Loxton brings to life the story of one of Europe’s most influential painters: Claude Monet. In this six-part biographical podcast, listeners journey through the pivotal moments of Monet’s life — from personal struggles to creative triumphs. Far from being relics of the past, his conflicts resonate deeply with today’s world: the fragile balance between humanity and nature, sweeping social change, and the enduring tension between war and peace. Surrounded by legend and myth, Monet remains a towering figure in art history. This documentary podcast seeks the truth behind the icon — and explores the final, unanswered questions about the French artist. A production of the Museum Barberini in Potsdam and Studio Jot.

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