Claude MonetImpressionist Painter

By Denise Jackson

• Claude Monet (1840 - 1926)

• Founder of the French Impressionists

• He had a good sense of humor, but didn’t do well in school. He never listened and spent most of his time drawing funny pictures. He even drew funny pictures of his teachers!

• When he was a teenager some people (who also had a good sense of humor) paid Monet’s to draw Caricatures of them.

• The new invention of the paint tube allowed Monet to paint outside, not in stuffy studios like most artists did at that time.

• Monet loved painting pictures of water.

• He loved the way colors reflect in water, and the special way the water makes the clouds and sky look.

• Monet even fixed up a boat as a floating studio.

• He kept paints, brushes, canvas, and drawing supplies on it.

• He sailed up and down rivers and streams painting wherever he liked.

• Monet met some other artists and showed them how fun it was to paint outdoors.

• Monet and his friends often painted together in the countryside.

• Monet wanted people to see his work and buy it, but at that time the only place people went to buy artwork was the Salon in Paris.

• The judges of the Salon picked only pictures that told a story, had clear realistic images and painted in dark moody colors.

• Monet and his friend’s work were not getting picked for the Salon, so they decided to have their own art show.

• Their work was more abstract and showed how pretty things looked when the sunlight was on it.

• A newspaper writer came to Monet and his friend’s exhibit and called them Impressionists.

• He got the name from Monet’s painting, Impression, Sunrise which was hung at the exhibit.

• If you look closely at Monet’s paintings, you can hardly tell what he painted. It just looks like a bunch of colorful brush strokes.

• But when you step back a little, it starts to make sense.

• Monet kept painting even though most people did not like his work.

• When Monet was older, people finally started to appreciate his paintings.

• He settled down in the French town of Giverny, and built a wonderful water garden there.

• Monet lived to be 86 years old.

• He spent the last ten years of his life painting scenes of his water garden.

• These painting are among the most beautiful and famous paintings he did.

• Some of them are over forty feet wide!

Bibliography

• Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists: Claude Monet by Mike Venezia.