Claude Monet, the father of impressionism
Claude Monet is a famous French painter of the 19th century. He is the founder of Impressionism, an artistic movement that focused on capturing light as well as natural forms. Who was Monet? What is he known for? What is Impressionism ?
The Childhood of Claude Monet
Claude Monet, also known as Oscar-Claude or Claude Oscar Monet, born on November 14, 1840 in the ninth arrondissement of Paris. He is the second son of Claude-Adolphe, a commercial agent, and Louise-Justine Aubrée Monet. His older brother, Léon-Pascal Monet at four years older than him.
In 1845, his family settled in Le Havre, in Normandy. Claude Monet developed a passion for drawing. From a very young age, Claude Monet knew that he wanted to become an artist. His mother encourages him when his father wants him to get into the family business.
Monet entered the high school of arts in Le Havre on April 1, 1851. He became known for his charcoal caricatures as well as his drawings of the inhabitants of the city. He took his first drawing lessons with Jacques-François Ochard, a former student of Jacques-Louis David. He met Eugène Boudin around 1856/1857 who would then become his mentor. He teaches him how to use paint oil and introduces him to it. “plein air” painting, the cornerstone of Claude Monet’s work.
The beginnings of impressionism
at the age of 17, following Following the death of his mother on January 28, 1857, Monet went to live with his aunt, Marie-Jeanne Lecadre. The latter, being a lover of painting, pushed her nephew towards the path of fine arts when he contracted typhoid during his seven-year engagement in the army. Disillusioned through the art taught in universities, Monet became a student of Charles Gleyre at the University of Paris. Paris in 1862. There he met Alfred Sisley, Pierre-Auguste Renoir as well as Frédéric Bazille. Together, they create, little by little, Little, a new art form by painting the effects of light outdoors with rapid brushstrokes and broken colors, in what would later be known as Impressionism. At this time, the painter received advice from a Dutch painter, Johan Barthold Jongkind, a precursor of impressionism.
During the Salon of 1865, his first annual art exhibition was held in Paris. Paris, the Salon, two of the painter's paintings, seascapes are chosen. A year later, Monet is at home. new selected to participate in the Show. Once again, two of his paintings were chosen by those responsible for the Salon, a landscape painting and «the Woman the Green Dress, a portrait of Camille Doncieux, his lover and future wife. This woman will also be the muse of the painter who will be found in numerous paintings such as «The Woman in the Garden» (1867) or "On the bank of the Seine, Bennecourt" (1868).
Despite sudden fame and some critical acclaim, the Monet couple experienced financial difficulties, particularly at home. the birth of their first son, Jean, in 1867. His father not wanting to help him, Claude Monet attempted suicide in the Seine in 1868.
Impression, rising sun, a new turn
In June 1870, Claude Monet and Camille married. The same year, they settled with their son in London, England, to escape the Franco-Prussian War. There he met Paul Durand-Ruel, his first art dealer. During this period, Monet discovered the works of John Constable and Joseph Mallord William Turner . Their landscapes will inspire Monet's innovations in the study of color. In the spring of 1871, the Royal Academy exhibition refused Monet's works.
Towards the end of 1871, Monet returned to France and settled in Paris. Argenteuil, which has l’epoch is a village located in the on the Seine near Paris. It is in this village that Claude Monet painted some of his best-known works.
//Between 1872 and 1873, Claude Monet painted «"Print, rising sun" representing the port of Le Havre in a morning fog. It was exhibited for the first time in 1874 in a group exhibition in the premises of the photographer Nadar. It’s From this title the art critic Louis Leroy coined the term «Impressionism» in order to denigrate this new artistic movement. The artists of this movement adopted this name.
However, the painter is experiencing difficult years. His painting did not allow him to live and he lost his wife in 1879, a year after the birth of their second son, Michel. After Camille's death, Monet painted a series of sinister paintings, the «series of mirrors»
Monet's fame
Before the death of his wife, the Monets had gone to live with Ernest and Alice Hoschedé and their six children. Claude Monet comes very close to this little Alice and begins to have a romantic relationship. Ernest and Alice will never divorce. In 1883, Alice and Monet settled in Paris. Giverny with their respective children. This small village in Normandy will be a source of inspiration for the artist. After Ernest's death in 1892, Monet and Alice married.
During this period, the success of the painter was felt thanks to his work. the export of impressionist painting to the United States by Durand-Ruel. Monet then produced series of landscapes which left little mark on his personality. little about the history of impressionism.
The founder of impressionism dies Giverny on December 5, 1926 leaving us «The cycle of Nympheas», his last work.
Découvrez quelques oeuvres inspirées de Monet
