Liz, nicely phrased!
I think the reviewer is just sick of Monet. We see prints and exhibitions of his work everywhere, and people do value his work. I understand where the writer's coming from, but I don't agree and I don't think he writes very well. But if he can get us talking about art on FR, then I like it!
Surely must be the raison d'etre for art----endless discussion.
I've continued to maintain that Picasso segued to Cubism as a way to silence his critics---considering them to be dolts---calculating they could never make heads or tails of his canvases.