Children's Web Magazine
Monet
Oscar - Claude Monet was born in Paris France in 1840. At the age of five he moved with his family to Normandy. His father ran a grocery shop. He was given a lot of freedom as a child, he was stubborn and disliked discipline and broke the rules early on.
He was not academic preferring to decorate his text books with designs rather than filling them with words and numbers. By the age of fifteen he was painting portraits he later charged for these to the shock of his family.
A chance meeting with the artist Eugene Boudin helped him to progress. He saw his talent and encouraged him to develop, to paint landscapes, nature and other things. To widen is artistic talent by studying more. He at first refused Boudin's advice. But eventually he went with him to paint outdoors. This would be the turning point as he realized what painting now meant to him he now knew what he wanted to do, he needed to paint. Against his parents wishes he moved to Paris to study.
Monet met other artists there and together they developed their work into what would be called impressionism. They painted what they saw at that time, the light and colours continually changing as the day wore on. It was revolutionary as it was a more relaxed way of painting, compared to the rather formal way art had been portrayed. However the British artist J.M.W Turner had been painting outside so he could recreate the right light and atmosphere for his paintings, long before the word impression had been uttered. Nevertheless Monet and his fellow artists did take it further and started a group that would inspire others and became a phenomenal success. He managed to visit other countries such as Holland, London and Venice. For someone who found light and atmosphere to be so important this must have given him immense pleasure.
Monet had a child by Camille Doncieux a model who he had painted. They later married and had a second child. He went to Britain and would study John Constable and J.M.W Turner. His wife died after an illness in 1879. He then set up home with a woman called Alice Hoschede they went to live in Giverny and later married in 1882. It is at Giverny where Monet painted some of his most famous works. Such as the Japanese bridge with the water lilies, he also did many paintings of the water lilies. You can visit both the house and garden in Giverny where he lived. His second wife Alice died in 1911, Monet died in 1926 he is buried in a cemetery in Giverny.
He was thought of as the leader of impressionism by his fellow artists. His work is still enjoyed and appreciated by many people today.
© Children's Web Magazine 2005
