(1840–1926). French painter Claude Monet led the late-19th century art movement known as Impressionism. Fascinated by the way light changes during the day, Monet preferred to paint outdoors. Most of his subjects were from nature, such as haystacks, poppies, and water lilies. Monet used short, broken brush strokes on the canvas. He wanted to capture scenes the way the human eye might view them—in a glimpse instead of how they are exactly. Famous during his lifetime, Monet created paintings that remain popular today. They are on view in art museums around the world.

Early life

The oldest son of a grocer, Claude Monet was born on November 14, 1840, in Paris, France. When he was 5 years old, his family moved to a small town on the French coast. Monet spent many hours on nearby beaches, even making pencil sketches of the ships he saw. To encourage his creativity, his family arranged for him to study with a local artist.

In 1859 Monet went to Paris. There he became friends with other artists, including Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Monet began exhibiting his paintings in the mid-1860s. But his artwork was slow to find an audience and he struggled to get by. At times he was so poor he could not buy paint or canvas.

Career

In the spring of 1874, Monet and some of his friends decided to have a showing of their works. Among the other artists were Renoir, Camille Pissarro, Alfred Sisley, Paul Cézanne, and Edgar Degas. Although the exhibit attracted attention, not one of the paintings was sold. Because of Monet's painting Impression: Sunrise the group became known as the Impressionists.

Monet continued working, often painting the same scene again and again. He wanted to show a subject, such as a train station, in all its variations of light, shadow, and season. Monet and the other Impressionists also continued to exhibit their work in Paris.

By the late 1880s Monet's artwork was widely admired, and he began to enjoy his first financial success. During the 1890s he created more series, painting Poplars and Rouen Cathedral, among others. By this time he had settled in Giverny, about 45 miles (75 kilometers) outside of Paris.

Later in his career, Monet's technique had become increasingly free. He began applying unmixed color directly to the canvas. His famous series Water Lilies, painted between 1900 and 1926, clearly shows the artist's strong interest in color and produces a remarkable visual effect. The surface of the paintings shimmer in the light.

Monet died on December 5, 1926, in Giverny. His house and gardens there became a French national monument.