Willibald Sauerländer tells in this brilliant study about a happy hour in the history of painting. In the summer of 1874, Manet and Monet, the outstanding artists of the emerging Impressionism, meet for a vacation in Argenteuil on the Seine. Their connection unfolds in their paintings and culminates in Manet's magnificent portrait, which depicts the painting Monet in his studio boat. The boat was, in a sense, programmatic: it was the ideal place for Monet's new plein air painting. From here, he could depict nature, the water, and the play of light. Manet, on the other hand, the great painter of modern life, comes to Argenteuil and studies Parisian society in their leisure time. In his portrait, everything ultimately comes together yet remains distinct: Manet's own perspective on people in their constraints and boredom, and his friend's perspective on art.