Claude Monet

Who was Claude Monet?

Claude Monet was a French painter who

was one of the greatest painters of the

impressionist times.

Soft wonderful colours and an intense

understanding of the use of light and

shadows define his paintings.

When was Claude Monet born?

He was born in 1840 on the 14th November in Paris, France.

His full name is Claude-Oscar Monet.

Claude Monet’s childhoodHis family owned a grocery business and naturally, they expected

their clever son to work for them as he became older. Monet had

other ideas and he chose to follow his dreams of becoming an artist.

When Monet was only 11, he studied at the Le Havre school of the

arts and would sell charcoal caricatures for 10-20 francs.

An artist named Eugene Boudin became a mentor to

him and taught him about painting with oils and how

to capture outdoor scenes on canvas. Throughout his

life, Monet was fascinated with nature and took every

advantage to highlight trees, plants, grass, flowers,

and water in many of his paintings.

Eugene Boudin

Claude Monet’s childhood

When he was 16, he lived with his aunt who had no children of

her own. Monet visited the famous museum, the Louvre, and

took paints and materials with him to practice painting. While

other artists would copy the works of other great painters,

Monet preferred to paint what he viewed from the windows.

Even at this early age, he was beginning to discover the style

that would redefine how painting was performed.

The Louvre

Claude Monet’s life

When he was 21, he joined the First Regiment of African Light

Cavalry for a seven-year commitment, because he sought

adventure. He was stationed in Algeria and became ill with

typhoid fever. His aunt was devastated and advised him that

she would get him out of the Army but only if he would agree

to take an art course at a University. It may be that she was

helped in this matter by a famous artist from Holland,

Jungkind, who knew of Monet’s talents.

Claude Monet’s childhood

Monet studied with Charles Gleyre during his early adult life.

He also would meet and work with other students and artists

who were destined for greatness. Among these notables

were Alfred Sisley, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Frederic

Bazille and Eduard Manet.

These were the artists who developed new and

breathtakingly stunning methods of painting. They created

and then perfected how to create the effects of light and

shadows with quick brush strokes and broken colours. This

new style is known now as Impressionist or Impressionism.

Other impressionist artists

Alfred Sisley, Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Frederic Bazille Eduard Manet

What is impressionism?

Impressionism is an art movement that was

started by a group of French painters who

decided to discard old ways of doing art. Lines

were replaced by rounded shapes or tiny dots.

Dark shadows became colourful and bright.

These painters often enjoyed painting outside.

Claude Monet's Impression Sunrise, was the inspiration of the term impressionism.

Claude Monet’s adult lifeClaude Monet and Camille Doncieux married in 1870.

Monet and Camille had two children Jean and Michel.

In 1879, Camille died of tuberculosis.

In 1892 Monet married Alice Hoschede.

On the 5th of December, 1926, Monet died.