Claude Monet

Claude Monet (1840-1926), French, Impressionist.
Monet is the father of French Impressionism and its most prolific and recognizable artist.
A true Parisian, Monet meet and befriended several other rising artists in the French art scene: Edouard Manet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir among them.
Despite these notable friendships, Monet was often at odds with much of the art establishment and always followed his heart in his paintings.
Many of Monet's most famous paintings were painted "plein-air", or "in the open air".
His use of paint to express his emotions and to capture his perception of a scene created landscapes like no others.
His ability to represent natural light and the vibrancy of the outdoors was masterfully enhanced by his rough brushstrokes and bold use of color.
He captured the feeling of a scene, its essence, its impression.
Indeed, it is his Impression, Sunrise which gave its name to the entire Impressionist movement.
Many of his early paintings are of family scenes including his wife, Camille, and their family.
Between 1871 and 1878, Monet lived on the Seine River in Argenteuil and painted some of the best-known works in all of art.
The viewer gets a wonderful sense of 19th century Europe through Monet's early paintings like Woman in a Garden, Jardin a Sainte-Adresse, the Artist's House at Argenteuil, Woman with a Parasol and The Boat Studio.
Later, after Camille had died, Monet moved the family to Giverny and began painting his series, several paintings of one scene throughout the course of time; Haystacks, Mornings on the Seine, Rouen Cathedral, the Parliament, and, of course, Water Lilies.
From 1883, when he moved to Giverny, until his death, Monet continued to paint series.
Monet was well known and successful during his lifetime.
But his success and influence have only grown in the years since his death.
His vision of the world and his vision of art combined to give 20th century artists the freedom to express what they saw and filter the world through their own eyes.