Claude Monet Giclée Fine Art Prints 5 of 32

Oscar-Claude Monet was born on November 14, 1840, in Paris, France. He was the second son of Claude-Adolphe Monet, a grocer, and Louise-Justine Aubrée, a singer. In 1845, the family moved to Le Havre, a port town in Normandy, where Monet's father opened a grocery and ship-chandlery business.

Monet showed an early talent for drawing and began taking lessons from local artist Eugène Boudin, who introduced him to plein air (outdoor) painting. In 1859, Monet moved to Paris to study art at the Académie Suisse, where he met fellow artists Camille Pissarro and Paul Cézanne.

In 1861, Monet was conscripted into the French army and served in Algeria for two years. After falling ill, he returned to France and resumed his art studies, attending the studio of Charles Gleyre in Paris. There, he met Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, and Frédéric Bazille, who would become key figures in the Impressionist movement.

Monet's early work was influenced by the Barbizon school, which focused on natural landscapes. However, he soon began to experiment with capturing the effects of light and atmosphere in his paintings. In 1866, Monet's painting "Camille" or "The Woman in the Green Dress" (La femme à la robe verte) featuring his future wife, Camille Doncieux, gained recognition at the Paris Salon.

In 1870, Monet married Camille, and the couple had two sons, Jean and Michel. The family faced financial difficulties, and Monet struggled to sell his paintings. In 1874, Monet and his fellow artists, including Renoir, Pissarro, and Edgar Degas, organized their own exhibition, which became known as the first Impressionist Exhibition. Monet's painting "Impression, Sunrise" (Impression, soleil levant) was displayed at the exhibition and inspired the name of the Impressionist movement.

Throughout the 1870s and 1880s, Monet continued to participate in the Impressionist exhibitions and developed his signature style, characterized by loose brushstrokes, vibrant colors, and a focus on the changing effects of light. He painted numerous series of works, including haystacks, poplars, and the Rouen Cathedral, capturing the same subject at different times of day and in various weather conditions.

In 1890, Monet purchased a property in Giverny, a small village in Normandy. He designed and cultivated an extensive garden, which became the subject of many of his later paintings, including the famous Water Lilies series. Monet's work during this period became increasingly abstract, as he focused on the interplay of light, color, and reflection in his garden's pond.

Monet's wife, Camille, died in 1879, and he later married Alice Hoschedé, the wife of a former patron. Monet continued to paint and travel, visiting London, Venice, and Norway, among other places. In his later years, he suffered from cataracts, which affected his vision and the colors in his paintings.

Claude Monet died on December 5, 1926, in Giverny, at the age of 86. He is buried in the Giverny church cemetery. Today, Monet is considered one of the most important and influential artists of the Impressionist movement, and his work continues to be celebrated and admired worldwide.