Who is Claude Monet?
Claude Monet was a famous French painter of the Impressionist period. He used to capture his daily life’s best moments on his canvas. He remains one of the most well-known personalities in the field of art. One of Monet’s most significant contributions was his painting style. They style was termed ‘Impressionism’.
Monet’s full name was Oscar-Claude Monet. Claude Monet was born on 14th November, 1840, in Paris, to Louise-Justine Aubree Monet and Adolphe Monet. Claude was the second son born to the couple. His father was a businessman and his mother was a singer.
At the age of eleven, Claude entered art school. His mother encouraged his dream of becoming an artist. However, his father wanted him to take over the family’s grocery business.
Met With Eugene
Monet began to draw caricatures of famous people. As a kid, he used to sell these caricatures to earn extra money. During that time, he met amazing French artists. One of them was the renowned landscape painter Eugene Boudin.
From Eugene, he learned the basic skills and techniques of art. It was Eugene who introduced Monet to oil paints. He taught Monet outdoor techniques for painting. It changed his approach towards art.
Why Monet Leave School at very young age?
Monet lost his mother when he was sixteen years old. He decided to leave school and went to live with his aunt. Monet moved to Paris and studied art at the Academie Suisse. There, he observed different artist’s styles. Monet often spends his free time painting what he saw. He also met several painters who become his friends one of them was Manet Edouard.
Why he quit Army? And how to became student of Charles Gleyre?
In 1861, he was enlisted in the army. But Monet had to quit after two years, as he was suffering from typhoid. After resigning from the army, he became a student of Charles Gleyre in Paris.
Monet also developed new methods of art; he began to use the effects of light and rapid brush strokes in his works, which later came to ne known as Impressionism. Monet gained fame when two of his marine landscape paintings were selected in an annual art show.
Monet’s masterpiece was called ‘Camille’ This painting was also known as the ‘Woman in The Green Dress’. It was a huge artwork, which he painted outside in the natural lights. He spends a lot of time on his painting. He presented it at the Salon. It turned out to be a milestone in his career.
How Claude Monet Met with Durand-Ruel, how became first art dealer?
In 1870, Monet moved to London. During his free time, he observed to works of other artists. There, he met Paul Durand-Ruel who became his first art-dealer. By 1871, Monet had moved to Zaandam, Netherland. He made 25 paintings within a few months.
After the Franco-Prussian war ended, Monet relocated to prance. He stayed there for seven years and created some of the most significant paintings of all time. Monet also became friends with several leading artist.
Society of Anonymous Painter
They started the Society of Anonymous Painter, Sculptors and Printmakers. In this society, they experimented with art instead of indulging in the same classical art that satisfied the art critics of Paris at the time.
One of these paintings was ‘Impression: Sunrise’ which was inspired by Le Havre harbor in the morning fog. This painting was a great example of the new style. The lighting gave the viewer the feeling that the sun had just risen. Based on the title of the paintings. M. Louis Leroy tauntingly dubbed this group of artists as “Impressionists”.
Traveled to Mediterranean
During the year 1883, Monet traveled to the Mediterranean, where he pained landmarks landscapes, and seascapes. He did a remarkable series of painting in Venice and then in London. He painted two important sets including ‘Views of the Parliament’ and ‘the View of the Charing Cross Bridge’.
He used light as the central theme in his art. Monet began to paint a series of similar scenes. He would paint at different times of the day and different types of weather. He painted a series on haystacks, the Rouen Cathedral and the London Parliament.
Memorable Days of Life
Monet spent the last few years of his life (from 1914 to almost until his death) painting his biggest project. It was a series based on the pond by his home. It was a large painting capturing the pond in different lightning conditions in panels titles Morning. Green Reflections, The Clouds and sunset. It took him ten years to finish and he called it ‘Grandes Decorations’.
Love Life
Monet married twice and has two children. He developed cataract as he grew and went through a series of related operations towards the end. Monet of lung cancer on December 5, 1926, at the age of 86.