One of the creators of impressionism.Claude Monet is the eldest son of a Parisian shopkeeper. His paintings captured scenes of middle-class life and the ever-changing qualities of sunlight in nature. His technique of applying bright, unmixed colors in quick, short strokes became a hallmark of impressionism. The family moved in 1845.and he spent his childhood in the port town of Le Havre.

Young Monet had a talent for caricature.

He took his early painting lessons there from the painter Eugen Boudin, who specialized in scenes of people strolling on beaches, worked up sketches out-of-doors.

Boudin took an interest in him and showed him how to paint landscapes in the open and advised him to seek further training in Paris. Monet went there in 1859.but ignored the guidance he had gone to seek. Another future leader of the impressionists.Camille Pissarro, was a fellow student there, and the two soon became close friends. After serving briefly in the French military in Algeria, monet joined a Parisian studio run by Charles Gabriel Gleyre in 1862.

Bazille, who came from a wealthy family, gave monet regular financial support during the 1860s.

Monets canvases from the mid-1860s were massive. The unfinished Luncheon on the Grass, a picnic scene begun in 1865.was originally intended to measure roughly 4. After the Salon rejected Women in the Garden for its 1867 exhibition, monet may have reconsidered investing so much effort in a single painting that might not sell, and he began to work on a smaller scale. In these small works, monets quick daubs of fresh colors aptly capture the movement of the water and gaiety of the scene. Despite his fathers disapproval, in 1870 monet married Camille, who had already borne him a son. They returned in 1872 and settled in Argenteuil, a sailing center on the Seine River outside Paris. The painters who became known as impressionists began exhibiting together in 1874.

They held eight exhibitions between 1874 and 1886.and although Monet did not participate in all of these, he became the most celebrated member of the group, and remains so today.

Inspired by this title.French art critic Louis Leroy coined the term impressionist in a satirical review of the exhibition. His comments criticized the artists for painting so loosely and neglecting to blend their brushstrokes carefully in order to achieve the polished effect that was then expected.

Monets swift strokes capture a momentary effect of light on water in a busy port, while mist and smoke blur the angular forms of sailboats.

In 1880 Monet decided, to the great annoyance of his fellow impressionists, to exhibit once again at the official Salon. He also began to sell his work regularly through private dealers.

In his late years Claude Monet suffered from physical problems.

After 1907 a bad eyesight and rheumatism made it more and more impossible for him to paint.

But he continued until the year of his death.

The great project over the last years was centered around his garden with a pond of water lilies and a Japanese bridge. He had even constructed a studio in his garden, so that he could paint more easily without being exposed to the weather outside.

In February 1926.at the age of 83.he could finish the last great challenge of his life a commission by the French government for 22 mural paintings of water lilies.

On December 5.1926 Claude Monet died from lung cancer.

On May 20.1841.he was baptized in the local parish church.Notre-Dame-de-Lorette as Oscar-Claude.

In 1845.his family moved to Le Havre in Normandy. His father wanted him to go into the family grocery store business, but Claude Monet wanted to become an artist.

Read More About Claude Monet Biography.

A title was needed in a hurry for the catalogue of the exhibition in 1874. Monet suggested simply Impression, and the catalogue editor.Renoirs brother Edouard, added an explanatory Sunrise. The artist was not to know that because of criticism which seized upon the first word he had given the entire movement its name. At that time.Paris was an important centre for artists. Picasso visited galleries, which are rooms that show works of art, and museums. Museums are places where a collection of art or historical items are safely kept for people to see and study. Picasso saw the paintings of the Impressionists, such as Claude Monet.

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