Claude Monet biography

She served as a muse for Monet, sitting for numerous paintings during her lifetime. The couple had experienced great hardship around the birth of their first son, Jean, in 1867. Monet was in dire financial straits, and his father was unwilling to help them. According to some reports, Monet got so despondent over the situation that he attempted suicide by trying to drown himself in the Seine River.

Louis-Joachim Guadibert became a patron of Monet's work,

which enabled Monet to continue his work and care for his family. He married Camille in June 1870, and they soon fled with their son to London after the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War. There, Monet met Paul Durand-Ruel, who became his first art dealer.

Returning to France after the war, Monet eventually settled in Argenteuil, an industrial town west of Paris. He had visits from many of his artist friends during his time there, including Renoir, Pissarro, and Edouard Manet. Banding together with several other artists, Monet helped form the Societe Anonyme des Artistes Peintres, Sculpteurs, Graveurs (the Society of Anonymous Painters, Sculptors, and Printers).

Monet sometimes got frustrated with his work. According to some reports, he destroyed a number of paintings—estimates range as high as 500 works. Monet would simply burn, cut, or kick the offending piece. In addition to these outbursts, he was known to suffer from bouts of depression and self-doubt.

The society's April 1874 exhibition proved to be revolutionary. One of Monet's most noted works in the show, Impression, Sunrise (1873), depicted Le Havre's harbor in a morning fog. Critics used the title to name the group of artists the Impressionists, saying that their work seemed more like sketches than finished paintings.

While it was meant to be derogatory, the term seemed fitting. Monet sought to capture the essence of the natural world using strong colors and bold, short brushstrokes. He and his contemporaries were turning away from the classical painting techniques and styles. Monet also included elements of industry in his landscapes, moving the form forward and making it more contemporary.

His personal life was marked by hardship around this time. His wife became ill during her second pregnancy. Their second son, Michel, was born in 1878, and she continued to deteriorate. Monet painted a portrait of her on her death bed. Before her passing, the Monets went to live with Ernest and Alice Hoschede and their six children.

After Camille's death, Monet painted a grim set of paintings known as the Ice Drift series. He grew closer to Alice, and the two eventually became romantically involved. Ernest spent much of his time in Paris, and he and Alice never divorced. Monet and Alice moved with their respective children to Giverny in 1883, a place that would be a source of great inspiration. The couple later married in 1892 after Ernest's death.

In Giverny, Monet loved to paint outdoors in the gardens he helped create there. The water lilies found in the pond had a particular appeal for him, and he painted several series of them over the rest of his life.