Claude Monet Research Paper

Claude Monet (also known as Oscar-Claude Monet) was one of the greatest artists of the 19th and 20th centuries. He was born November 14, 1840 in Paris and died December 5, 1926 at the age of 86. Claude Monet was the founder of French impressionist painting and was the most consistent and prolific practitioner of the movement’s philosophy. In 1845 Monet’s family moved to Normandy and Monet’s father wanted him to follow his footsteps and take over the grocery store, but Monet wanted to be an artist. On April 1851 Monet entered the Le Havre secondary school of the arts. Monet’s mentor, Eugène Boudin, taught him “en plein air” (outdoor) painting techniques. When Monet was 16 his mother died and he went to live with his childless, widowed aunt.

The term impressionism came from Monet’s painting Impression, Sunrise. There was a Paris exhibition in 1874 of like-minded painters who were shunned by the official Paris Salon show and frustrated by its politics and narrow vision. This group included such artistic legends such as Renoir, Degas, Cézanne and Pissarro. An art critic who was reviewing the show helped to created the term by titling his article “Exhibition of Impressionists” based on Monet’s work. However the art critic did not mean it as a compliment but it gained popularity and in future use, took on a far more respectful connotation. The Impressionist movement transformed French painting in the second half of the nineteenth century. Not only did he lead the French impressionist movement but he also led the way to twentieth-century modernism by developing a unique style that strove to capture, on canvas, the very act of perceiving nature. Impressionism continues to be one of the most reproduced styles of art for popular consumption and this can all be brought back to Monet and those inspired by him. Monet’s lead role in this period of time has lead to him being widely recognized for his participation and has made his work more popular because it represents a great period of