Introduction Artist Name Claude Monet Born November 14

Introduction Artist Name: Claude Monet Born: November 14, 1840 Died: December 5, 1926 Country Artist was from: France

Family & Childhood Monet’s father, Adolphe, was a grocer and worked for the family’s shipping business. His mother, Louise, took care of their family and was also a singer and popular hostess. At the age of five, he moved with his family to Le Havre, a seaside town in Normandy. There, he grew up with his older brother, Leon. The ocean and coastline of the area had an insightful effect on him. He did not like being confined in a classroom and enjoyed being outdoors so he would usually go out for walks along beaches and cliffs. Monet developed a love of drawing at an early age. In his free time, he drew sketches and caricatures of people, including his teachers and towns’ residents, and sold the pieces for 20 francs each. His mother supported his artistic abilities, but his father wanted him to go into business. Monet suffered immensely after his mother died in 1857. At the age of sixteen, he left school and started living with his aunt.

More Family Info Personal life: Monet met Camille Doncieux in Paris. Camille worked as a model and served as a muse for him, posing for numerous paintings. Camille became pregnant with their first son, Jean, who was born in 1867. The couple struggled financially and lived in poverty. Monet’s father was unwilling to provide any help. As a result from the situation, Monet felt so miserable that he attempted to commit suicide by trying to drown himself in the Seine River. Fortunately, things started to work out when Louis-Joachim Guadibert became a patron of Monet’s work. This allowed Monet to continue working and care for his family. Personality: Monet is sensitive, perceptive, and slightly shy. He is peaceful through nature, and works well and understands his surroundings. He is aware of his inner strength and uses it to find courage to lead difficult times towards his goals. Monet likes music and poetry. He also has healing capabilities in such fields as massage, acupuncture, and physical therapy.

Education background Monet entered the Le Havre secondary school of arts. He received drawing lessons from Jacques Orchard. He met Eugene Boudin, a local landscape painter known for his scenes of northern French towns. He also introduced Monet to en plein air, or painting outdoors, which opened a new way of creating art to him and later became the foundation of his work. In 1859, he decided to move to Paris to study and pursue art. He enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, and attended as a student at the Academie Suisse. There, he met fellow artist Camille Pissarro. He went to the studio of Swiss artist Charles Gleyre and studied with him along with other artists and future Impressionists - Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, and Frederic Bazille. Monet’s “final education of the eye, ” was given by Dutch artist Johann Jongkind, who supported and advised him and was an important influence.

Movement Impressionism/Impressionist Movement – a type of art in which the artist captures their perception or impression of a scene by using unique colors, observing the effect of light and atmosphere on the image, and focusing more on natural form than sharp details During his career, Monet experimented with the qualities of light, color, atmosphere, and decorative paint surface. He also painted the same subject matter repeatedly during different times of the day. Monet created different kinds of artwork including caricatures, marine paintings, landscape paintings, outdoor scenes, portraits, series paintings, and modernization of city life.

Influence & Inspiration People who influenced Monet: - Eugene Boudin, Johann Jongkind, Charles Gleyre What inspired him to create: subjects in his surrounding, Nature, places, passion for art Monet significantly inspired the fellow artists he worked with which included Renoir, Bazille, and Sisley. He also inspired other artists like Degas and Pissarro. Monet affected culture with the Impressionist movement. The movement’s style of art was very different from the traditional art that was already established during the time. It shifted the emphasis in the images and received some opposition and critical praise from others.

Struggles & Successes People did like Monet’s art. As a young person, he sold caricatures in his town and people bought them. His paintings were also featured in art shows. Monet did have close friends who encouraged him. He was famous during his time. His art was chosen in exhibitions and his sense of art was special. His painting “Impression, Sunsrise” gave rise to the name of this movement.

Facts about his art and life Monet was known to suffer from depression and self-doubt. He lived in poverty throughout his life but occasionally got financial success. He developed a cataract in his eye which made is difficult to paint and see color. Despite this condition, he continued working on his series of paintings which is among his famous works until his final years. He traveled a lot around Europe to get inspiration from places and the environment. He sometimes got angry with his work. Some reports say the he destroyed a number of paintings - estimating up to 500 works. He would basically burn, cut, or kick the piece.

Accomplishments & Quotes Paintings, Series of paintings (Ex: Water Lilies, Rouen Cathedral…) Being an important leader of the Impressionist movement and the most dedicated of all the Impressionists Helped changed the world of painting by breaking down conventions of the past “My only merit lies in having painted directly in front of nature, seeking to render my impressions of the most fleeting effects. ” “For me, a landscape does not exist in its own right, since its appearance changes at every moment; but the surrounding atmosphere brings it to life – the light and the air which vary continually. For me, it is only the surrounding atmosphere which gives subjects their true value. ” “Everyone discusses my art and pretends to understand, as if it were necessary to understand, when it is simply necessary to love. ”

Death & Conclusion Died in December 5, 1926 Developed a cataract in one eye Lived an extraordinary life and his huge artistic output formed his figure. Impressionism continues to be reproduced and can be seen in calendars, postcards, and posters. His efforts and experiments is present in most major artistic movements.

#1 Title: Impression, Sunrise Medium: Oil on canvas Location: Musèe Marmottan Monet

#2 Title: Camille (The Woman in the Green Dress) Medium: Oil paint Location: Kunsthalle Bremen

#3 Title: Women in the Garden Medium: Oil painting Location: Musèe d’Orsay

#4 Title: Bain à la Grenouillère Medium: Oil paint Location: New York Metropolitan Museum of Art

#5 Title: Beach in Pourville Medium: Oil on canvas Location: National Museum, Poznan, Poland

#6 Title: The Magpie Medium: Oil on canvas Location: Musèe d’Orsay

#7 Title: Poppy Fields near Argenteuil Medium: Oil paint Location: New York, Rancho Mirage

#8 Title: The Houses of Parliament, Sunset, 1903 Medium: Oil painting Location: National Gallery of Art Washington, DC.

#9 (Favorite work of art) Title: Water Lilies Medium: Oil paint Location: Art Institute of Chicago Building (Reason for liking this piece of art: It’s part of the Water Lilies series and it looks very nice. )

#10 Title: Rouen Cathedral: The Portal (Sunlight) Medium: Oil paint Location: New York (since 1915), Newport (1895– 1915), Paris (1895– 1895)