as if it were necessary to understand,
when it is simply necessary to love."
~ Claude Monet
- Monet, a French painter is one of the most famous painters in the history of art and a leading figure in the Impressionist movement.
- Monet was born on November 14, 1840 and died at age 86 on December 5, 1926.
- He was baptized as Oscar-Claude, but his parents called him Oscar.
- His painting Impression: Sunrise, 1872 gave the Impressionists art movement its name.
- Impressionism was concerned with capturing light and natural forms.
- When he was young, Monet wanted to become an artist, but his father wanted him to go into the family grocery business.
- Monet was seen as a rebel at school. He would draw caricatures of his teachers and friends instead of doing his work.
- Monet created several series of paintings including: Rouen Cathedral, Poplars, the Parliament, Mornings on the Seine, and the Water Lilies. Monet’s “series” paintings depicted the subject in varying light and weather conditions.
- Haystacks was Monet’s first series exhibited. The haystacks were painted from different points of view and at different times of the day.
- Monet painted until his death and would sometimes repaint some of his canvasses.
- The painting Falaises près de Dieppe (Cliffs near Dieppe) has been stolen twice, once in 1998 and most recently in 2007. It was recovered both times.
- Visit Giverny to see Monet's gardens and sources of inspiration for many of his paintings.