| | | Part One |
| Claude Oscar | Monet | Protagonist. A famous caricaturist. |
| Camile-Leonie | Doncieux | Claude's lover. |
| Marc | | Claude's friend. |
| Eugene | Boudin | One of the local painters. |
| Old | Gravier | Claude's companion. A shopkeeper. |
| Leon | Monet | Claude's brother. |
| Adolphe | Monet | Claude's father. |
| Marguerite | | Claude's cousin. |
| LeCadre | | Claude's aunt. |
| Hannah | | The Monet's housekeeper. |
| Haussmann | | The Emperor's deputy. |
| Damek | | The first girl that Claude paints. |
| Pierre-Auguste | Renoir | Claude's classmate. |
| Jacob-Abraham Camille | Pissarro | Claude's painting classmate. |
| Paul | Cezanne | Jacob's friend. Claude's co-painter. |
| Edouard | Manet | Claude's friend and co-painter. |
| Jean Frederic | Bazille | Claude's best friend and classmate. |
| Sisley | | A medical student. |
| Mirabelle | | Claude's servant. |
| Annette | Lebois | Camille's sister. |
| | | Part Two |
| Lily | | Frederick's girlfriend. |
| Bazille | | One of Claude's girlfriends. |
| Julie | Pissarro | Camille Pissarro's wife. |
| Lucien | Pissarro | Julie's son. |
| Commander | Lejosne | Frederick's uncle. |
| Madame | Lejosne | Frederick's aunt. |
| Edmond | Maitre | Frederick's friend. |
| Madame | Bazille | Frederick's mother. |
| Courbet | | The burly artist. |
| Henri | | Annette's husband. |
| Lucien | Besique | Camille's old fiancé. |
| Charles-Francois | Daubigny | One of the great painters. |
| Madame | Doncieux | Camille's mother. |
| | | Part Three |
| Victoire | | Camille's dog. |
| Monsieur | Doncieux | Camille's father. |
| Sarah | Bernhardt | The actress. |
| Lise | Renoir | Auguste's wife. |
| Degas | | Claude's friend. |
| Isaac | Clement | Claude's former farmer. |
| Marc | | Claude's friend from Le Havre. |
| Berthold | | Father of Marc's fiancé. |
| Jean | Monet | Claude and Camille's son. |
| Madame | Mathieu | Claude's customer. |
| David | | A young actor. Camille's ex-boyfriend. |
| Paul | Durand-Ruel | The most important art dealer. |
| | | Part Four |
| Faucher | | The widow. |
| | | Part Five |
| Louis | | Owner of a restaurant. |
| Berthe | Morisot | A painter. |
| Nannette | | Annette and Jean's son. |
| Corot | | One of the greatest artists. |
| Emille | Cardon | An Art critic. |
| | | Part Six |
| Leclercq | | An art collector. |
| Ernest | Hoschede | An art collector. |
| Alice | Hoschede | Ernest's wife. Claude's mistress. |
| Zola | | Camille's friend. |
| | | Part Seven |
| Caillebotte | | Claude's co-painter and friend. |
| Dr. De Bellio | | Claude's friend and customer. |
| Comte Beguin | Billecocq | Claude's friend and customer. |
| Michel | Monet | Claude and Camille's son. |
| Blanche | Hoschede | Alice and Ernest's 2nd child. |
| Marthe | Hoschede | Alice and Ernest's 1st child. |
| Germaine | Hoschede | Alice and Ernest's son. |
| Suzanne | Hoschede | One of Alice and Ernest's daughters. |