Claude Monet biography

Claude Monet failed, starved and despaired. Despite this, he became the most important painter of his time. He fled from creditors, lost his great love and even tried to destroy his own work before the world could see it. This is the story of Claude Monet, the founder of Impressionism.

Childhood in Paris and Le Havre

Claude Oscar Monet was born in Paris on November 14, 1840. However, he did not spend his early years in the capital, but in Le Havre - a lively port city on the north-western coast of France. The vastness of the sea, the constantly changing light above the surface of the water and the salty air of Normandy left a lasting impression on the young Monet. Early on, he developed a special sensitivity for atmospheric moods, which later became a central feature of his artistic work.

At school, Monet attracted attention early on for his talent as a draughtsman - although initially less through painting than through his keenly observed caricatures, in which he caricatured fellow pupils, teachers and local personalities. At the age of 15, he was already known as a caricaturist in Le Havre and successfully sold his drawings, earning his own money for the first time.

Eugène Boudin and open-air painting

The decisive encounter in Monet's early career was with the landscape painter Eugène Boudin. This came about rather by chance: Monet's caricatures and Boudin's seascapes hung side by side in the shop window of the same frame dealer in Le Havre. Monet initially rejected Boudin's works and showed little interest in meeting him. However, when he entered the store one day, the dealer introduced them to each other without further ado.

Boudin, 16 years older than Monet, praised the young artist's caricatures and encouraged him to take up oil painting seriously. He invites Monet to accompany him as he works outdoors. Monet's parents were skeptical about this acquaintance, as Boudin came from a humble background and did not conform to the family's social expectations. Nevertheless, Monet accepted the offer and quickly became Boudin's pupil.

Boudin's influence was profound. Monet learned from him how to work directly in front of the subject, how to quickly grasp the lighting conditions and the importance of the moment. Painting in the open air - plein-air painting - henceforth became the basis of his artistic approach. Looking back, Monet described Boudin as his real teacher and wrote that he owed him everything.

Paris, Académie Suisse and first companions

In 1859, Monet moved to Paris to continue his artistic training. He had around 2,000 francs at his disposal, which he had earned from caricatures and which his aunt kept for him. Initially, he also received financial support from his father. However, this ended in 1860 when Monet refused to follow the family's desired path via the École des Beaux-Arts. Instead, he deliberately opted for the free Académie Suisse, where he met Camille Pissarro, among others.

In 1861, Monet was conscripted into seven years of military service as he did not have the means to buy his way out. During his deployment in Algeria, he fell seriously ill, presumably with typhoid fever. He was discharged for health reasons in 1862. His aunt finally bought him out of military service for 3,000 francs, but on the strict condition that he continued his artistic training.

Monet returned to Le Havre to recuperate. This enforced interruption proved to be fruitful: he met the Dutch painter Johan Barthold Jongkind, with whom he worked intensively. Jongkind deepened Monet's understanding of light, atmosphere and moving landscapes and became another important influence on his development.

Atelier Gleyre, Paris Salon and Édouard Manet

After his return to Paris, Monet's aunt introduced him to the painter Auguste Toulmouche as an artistic advisor. He recommended that he enter the studio of the Swiss painter Charles Gleyre. There, Monet met Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Frédéric Bazille and Alfred Sisley. The friendships that developed here had a lasting impact on Monet's artistic career.

Together, they preferred to paint in the forest of Fontainebleau and oriented themselves towards the landscape painting of the Barbizon School. However, Monet increasingly came into conflict with Gleyre's academic teaching and soon left the studio again. At the same time, he maintained close contact with Boudin and Jongkind, who continued to accompany him artistically.

Participation in the Paris Salon was of existential importance for artists of the time. In 1865, Monet achieved his first breakthrough: two of his seascapes were exhibited and received positive reviews. He then planned a monumental work, "Breakfast on the Green", for the following year's Salon. As he was unable to complete it in time, he submitted the portrait "Camille in a green dress" at short notice, which was again well received and made him better known.

In 1867, the painting "Women in the Garden" was rejected by the Salon. Monet's free brushstrokes and his modern approach to painting stood in contrast to the academic ideals favored at the time. He was again rejected in 1870.

During these years, he also met Édouard Manet. Monet admired Manet's work and had been in close contact with him since 1866. His own "Breakfast on the Green" is clearly inspired by Manet's scandalous painting of the same name, but is deliberately more conventional. In the following years, the two artists influenced each other; Monet even won Manet over to plein-air painting at times. Manet was also one of the few to support Monet directly in times of great financial hardship.

Financial hardship and first crises

Despite growing recognition, Monet's financial situation remained unstable. Support from friends such as Manet and Bazille enabled him to continue working for a time, but economic security did not materialize. Camille Doncieux's dowry and a paternal inheritance only temporarily alleviated his hardship.

With the birth of their son Jean in 1867, the situation worsened considerably. Monet had to flee from creditors and was dependent on help from family, friends and patrons. The shipowner Gaudibert procures commissions for him and redeems seized works. Nevertheless, his despair reached a dramatic climax in 1868 when Monet attempted suicide by throwing himself into the Seine.

London and the Franco-Prussian War

While Édouard Manet and Frédéric Bazille were called up for military service during the Franco-Prussian War, Monet and Pissarro fled to London. There, Monet painted numerous views of the Thames, Hyde Park and the fog-covered city. William Turner's works in particular made a lasting impression on him and influenced his approach to light, color and atmosphere.

In London, Monet also met the art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel. This encounter proved to be decisive: Durand-Ruel recognized the potential of the new painting and bought works by the Impressionists for years. His support provided Monet with a certain degree of financial stability for the first time.

First Impressionist group exhibition

After the war, Monet returns to Paris. Together with Pissarro, Renoir, Sisley and other artists, he founded the "Société Anonyme Coopérative d'Artistes-Peintres, Sculpteurs, Graveurs, etc.". The aim was to exhibit independently of the Salon.

At the first exhibition in 1874, Monet showed the painting "Impression, Sunrise". The critic Louis Leroy derided the work as a mere "impression". However, the term became established as a term for an entire art movement. Economically, the exhibition was largely unsuccessful and the company disbanded in the same year.

Ernest and Alice Hoschedé

Monet's patrons at this time included Manet and the art collector Ernest Hoschedé. Hoschedé not only had personal trust in Monet, but also concrete economic expectations. He hoped to gain both social prestige and financial stability through Monet's growing artistic reputation.

However, an economic crisis weakened the art market, and Durand-Ruel also had to temporarily limit his support. In 1876, Hoschedé commissioned Monet to paint a room in his Rottembourg château, but ran into financial difficulties himself and was forced to sell his property and art collection.

Renewed poverty and a new beginning

The Monet family and Alice Hoschedé lived together for a time in Vétheuil under extremely strained financial conditions. After a serious illness, Monet's first companion Camille died in 1879 at the age of just 32. After Camille's death, Monet and Alice Hoschedé developed a steady relationship, which later led to marriage. This relationship, as well as unresolved financial dependencies, put additional strain on his relationship with Ernest Hoschedé.

A house, a garden, a new world

In the early 1880s, Monet increasingly withdrew from Impressionist exhibitions and took part in a group exhibition for the last time in 1882. At the same time, he managed to return to the Paris Salon, and Durand-Ruel once again intensified his support.

In 1883, Monet and Alice Hoschedé settled in Giverny. Monet moved into the house there, where he laid out his famous garden. This became the center of his life and an inexhaustible source of inspiration for his later work. With the growing success of Impressionism, Monet's financial situation also stabilized in the 1880s. He was able to buy the house, expand the garden and realize larger artistic projects.

Health problems and his eyesight

In the following decades, Monet traveled extensively, including to the Mediterranean coast and Scandinavia, and exhibited successfully internationally. At the same time, he suffered increasingly from health problems, particularly cataracts, which severely impaired his perception of color and form. After several eye operations in 1923, Monet regained some of his sight. Nevertheless, his vision remained impaired and he was increasingly hampered by psychological stress in particular. Depression, exhaustion and deep doubts about his own work made it difficult for him to continue the monumental series of water lily paintings. Although he was technically able to work again, he often lacked the inner strength to consistently continue his artistic projects.

The legacy of Claude Monet

Monet originally did not want to leave many of his late works to the public. As he grew older, he developed a pronounced perfectionism and a strong need for control over his artistic legacy. Dissatisfaction with his own work, exacerbated by his visual problems and depressive phases, led to him destroying numerous paintings himself in order to prevent what he saw as an incomplete or misunderstood reception.

At the same time, Monet was skeptical about the presentation of his late work for a long time. In particular, he regarded the monumental series of water lilies less as individual paintings than as a complete work of art that could only unfold its full effect in a room specially created for it. It was only through the repeated urging of friends, family members and state representatives that he was finally persuaded to donate selected works to the French state.

This donation was subject to clear conditions and led to the creation of the oval rooms in the Musée de l'Orangerie, where the large-format water lily paintings are still on display today. Through this act of self-determination over the presentation and context of his work, Monet not only ensured the preservation of central parts of his oeuvre, but also had a lasting influence on the modern understanding of space, perception and serial painting.

He had tried to control how the world would remember him and failed. What he wanted to destroy now hangs in museums all over the world. What he wanted to conceal can be seen by millions of enthusiastic viewers.

Related Posts

Kunstwerke von Claude Monet

Works of art by Claude Monet

Claude Monet is one of the most influential painters of the 19th century and is particularly known for his middle and late work. While his early works up to the 1860s were still clearly committed to realistic depictions, it was above all his later, light-flooded paintings with a free pictorial language that brought him international recognition. Today, these works are classified as Impressionism - the art movement that owes its name to one of his paintings. As part of a new generation of artists, Monet consciously turned away from the academic conventions of his time. Instead of historical or mythological subjects, he placed direct perception at the center of his work. From then on, landscapes, gardens, water surfaces and changing light moods determined his choice of motifs. Working in the open air led to a style of painting with visible brushstrokes, broken colors and deliberately open contours. In this way, Monet not only had a decisive influence on Impressionism, but also paved the way for a modern conception of painting. In the context of art history, his most important works can therefore be understood less as isolated masterpieces and more as stages in a consistent artistic development. From early key works to the serial painting cycles of his late work, we can see a constant intensification of his interest in light, color and perception. In the following, we present nine paintings and groups of works that exemplify Monet's oeuvre and are of central importance both for his personal career and for the history of Impressionism. Impression, Sunrise 1872 Hardly any other painting is as closely associated with the emergence of Impressionism as Impression, Sunrise. It depicts the port of Le Havre at dawn: An orange sun breaks through the blue-grey fog, while boats and harbor facilities are only visible as shadowy shapes. Instead of precise details, the atmosphere dominates, contours dissolve and forms remain deliberately incomplete. When Monet exhibited the work in Paris in 1874, the critic Louis Leroy reacted derisively to the title and unintentionally coined the term "Impressionism". What was intended as a derogatory remark quickly established itself as the name of a new artistic attitude that was decidedly different from academic painting traditions. From today's perspective, Impression, Sunrise is considered a programmatic work. Monet eschewed narrative clarity and traditional composition in favor of the effect of light, color tone and subjective perception. The painting thus marks the starting point of a movement that no longer wanted to show what is seen, but how seeing takes place. The Water Lilies (Nymphéas) 1896-1926 | Series of approx. 250 paintings Over a period of more than three decades, Monet created a comprehensive pictorial cosmos with the water lilies, which significantly influenced his late work. He repeatedly devoted himself to the water lily pond in his garden in Giverny, without striving for a single, self-contained work. Floating flowers, reflections of the sky and vegetation as well as the movement of the water merge into an open pictorial space. During this intensive working phase, Monet increasingly withdrew from public life. The garden became a personal retreat, not least due to health restrictions that impaired his vision from the 1910s onwards. Colors appeared distorted to him, contrasts became blurred, blues and greens lost their clarity, while reds and yellows gained dominance. These changes are directly reflected in the late water lily paintings. From an art historical perspective, the Nymphéas mark the culmination of Monet's lifelong exploration of perception. The painting here describes less the external world than an inner state and thus points far beyond classical Impressionism. The Magpie (La Pie) 1868-1869 A wintry stillness pervades the painting The Magpie. A snow-covered landscape can be seen, criss-crossed by a simple wooden fence, behind which a farmhouse rises. A single magpie sits - almost casually - on the fence. The scene appears calm and deserted, as if time has stopped for a moment. Monet's use of color is particularly remarkable. The snow does not appear as a neutral white surface, but shimmers in shades of blue, gray and pink. The colored shadows lend depth and vibrancy to the winter landscape. The artist completely dispenses with narrative intensification or dramatic contrasts. At the time of its creation, this depiction contradicted the conventions of academic painting, which traditionally treated snow without color. Today, we can see how early Monet formulated a central principle of Impressionism here: To make nature visible as the result of momentary perception. The Poppies (Les Coquelicots) 1873 A summery field near Argenteuil spreads out before the viewer in The Poppies. Bright red flowers set rhythmic color accents in the green meadow, while two figures - Monet's wife Camille and her son - move through the landscape without disturbing the impression of tranquility. The composition is open and invites the eye to wander. It leads across the gently rising meadow to a sky that merges into the landscape without any clear separation. The poppies are not executed with botanical precision, but as vibrant splashes of color that suggest movement and light. It is clear here how consistently Monet was already working in the early 1870s on a painting that thematizes seeing itself. An everyday scene becomes a sensual experience - and thus a key work of early Impressionism. Woman with a Parasol (Femme à l'ombrelle) 1875 An unusual angle determines Woman with a Parasol. Seen from below, the figure appears against a bright sky, as if she has just come into view. This perspective lends the picture a spontaneous, fleeting effect. The white dress dissolves into shades of blue, green and yellow, hinting at the play of sun and shadow. The veil and parasol seem to be caught by the wind, their contours deliberately unstable. The sky is not a calm background either, but part of the moving picture. Monet is capturing less a portrait than a perception here. The painting conveys the feeling of a sunny day and the transience of the moment - exemplary of the Impressionist idea of painting the moment. Rouen Cathedral 1892-1894 | Series For several years, the west façade of Rouen Cathedral served Monet as a constant motif. He painted the monumental building from an almost identical angle under changing light and weather conditions. The architecture loses its material weight and becomes a surface for color and atmosphere. Depending on the time of day, the façade appears cool and translucent or warm and luminous. The structure remains recognizable, but increasingly dissolves into a dense network of brushstrokes and patches of colour. The cathedral does not appear static, but is subject to constant change. Letters from this period document Monet's frustration with the fleeting nature of light and the difficulty of capturing the impression. It is precisely this struggle that characterizes the series and makes it a highlight of his serial working method - on the threshold of modern, process-based painting. The Houses of Parliament in London, sunset 1904 The dark silhouette of the British Houses of Parliament stands out against the color-saturated sky. In the London views, the architecture recedes behind the atmospheric events and becomes part of a shimmering interplay of light, smoke and water. Shades of violet, blue and orange pervade the sky and the Thames, while billows of smoke connect the buildings and their surroundings. Reflections in the water reinforce the impression of movement and transience. The massive architecture loses its dominance to the immaterial forces of light. Here, too, Monet worked in motivic variations. The focus was not on the parliament itself, but on the changing effect of the light at different times of day. Even a symbol of state power thus appears as a fleeting phenomenon. The Haystacks (Les Meules) 1890-1891 | Series of 25 paintings An inconspicuous rural motif forms the starting point for one of Monet's most consistent groups of works. The piled haystacks in the fields near Giverny appear again and again from a similar perspective, but change their character with the light and weather. Haystacks can be seen in the morning light, in the warm glow of the evening, under snow or in diffuse fog. While the form remains constant, the color and atmosphere change fundamentally. Shadows become colorful and develop a life of their own. This series illustrates the shift from depicting the motif to examining perception. Landscape painting becomes a reflection on time, repetition and transience - a central step towards a modern approach to painting. The Japanese Bridge (Le Pont japonais) 1899-1925 In the garden of Giverny, the Japanese bridge was a motif of particular intensity. The curved wooden bridge spans the water lily pond and combines water, vegetation and light to create a closed pictorial space. The bridge is often only hinted at, embedded in a dense network of green, blue and yellow tones. Water surface, reflections and plants merge into one another, clear spatial boundaries dissolve. The composition appears calm and unstable at the same time. This impression is reinforced in the later versions. Darker colors, stronger contrasts and a denser painting style testify to Monet's limited vision. The bridge loses its clarity, while color and rhythm determine the structure of the picture. These works thus mark a transition to an autonomous pictorial world that goes far beyond classical Impressionism. Biography of Claude Monet If you would like to find out more about the life and career of Claude Monet, you can find a biography of the founder of Impressionism at  . If you would like to get to know more paintings or hang one of Monet's paintings in your home, you should definitely visit our poster store. We offer a large selection of artworks by Claude Monet  and other well-known Impressionists. There's a good chance you'll find the right motif for every home. So browse our store now and discover high-quality art prints by famous artists at Betterposter.

Caspar David Friedrich Biografie

Caspar David Friedrich biography

Caspar David Friedrich was born on September 5, 1774, the sixth of ten children. His childhood was overshadowed by loss from an early age. The deepest trauma: while ice-skating, his brother Johann Christoffer broke into the ice and drowned when he tried to save Caspar David.

10 berühmte Künstler der Landschaftsmalerei

10 Landscape Artists You Should Know About

Landscape painting is one of the oldest yet most versatile genres in art history. In its early stages, it often served merely as a backdrop for religious and historical scenes. Over time, however, nature itself moved into the spotlight. Especially from the 17th century onward, landscapes developed into an independent genre during the Dutch Golden Age and simultaneously in Venetian painting. The Dutch were led by realists who focused on rural areas, while in Venice, artists like Canaletto made cityscapes famous. From Romanticism to Impressionism In the Romantic period and later in Impressionism, landscapes gained increasing artistic and cultural relevance. At the start of the 19th century, English landscape painting flourished under Thomas Girtin, John Constable, and William Turner. This momentum spread to France, inspiring new approaches to landscape art through plein air painting and the Barbizon School. New Continents, New Perspectives Meanwhile, American painters of the Hudson River School explored the untouched wilderness of the New World—capturing its grandeur and remote beauty. In time, movements like Luminism and the Rocky Mountain School also emerged in the U.S. As you can see, landscape painting is incredibly diverse. To give you a clearer overview, we’re introducing ten of the greatest landscape painters in more detail—so you can better understand how this genre evolved over the centuries. Enjoy! 1. Jacob van Ruisdael (1628–1682) This Dutch master was a pioneer of realistic landscape painting. He was among the first to depict nature not as a backdrop but as a meaningful subject in its own right. His dramatic skies, windswept trees, tranquil waters, and rugged terrain evoke a powerful emotional atmosphere. Ruisdael often rejected idealized scenes in favor of raw, reverent portrayals of nature. Works like The Great Oak Forest and The Jewish Cemetery at Ouderkerk combine technical precision with existential depth, addressing themes like transience, solitude, and sublimity. His influence extended beyond the Netherlands, inspiring Constable, the Barbizon School, and German Romantics. 2. Thomas Girtin (1775–1802) Though he died young at just 27, Thomas Girtin had a major impact on English landscape painting. He elevated watercolor from decorative craft to a serious artistic medium. His ruins, valleys, and foggy hills express profound emotion and atmosphere. In an era of idealized classicism, Girtin brought realism and sincerity to landscape art. His influence extended to his friend and collaborator J.M.W. Turner, and his innovations paved the way for Romantic landscape painting. 3. John Constable (1776–1837) A central figure in British art, Constable believed that beauty was not found in fantasy but in everyday nature. He painted meadows, rivers, and fields in his native Suffolk with deep affection. His masterpiece The Hay Wain (1821) captures rural life with authenticity and warmth. Constable often painted outdoors, creating studies and sketches that defied classical norms. His dynamic brushwork and atmospheric techniques strongly influenced French artists of the Barbizon School. 4. William Turner (1775–1851) Turner revolutionized landscape painting by focusing on emotion and elemental power. Unlike his peers, he captured storms, fires, and glowing sunsets with a proto-abstract style that blurred lines and dissolved forms into pure color and light. His later works abandoned traditional structure in favor of expressive brushstrokes and radiant effects—foreshadowing Impressionism and redefining the emotional capacity of landscape art. 5. Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840) Friedrich was the leading Romantic painter in Germany, often called a "poet with a brush." Influenced by Protestant spirituality and Enlightenment philosophy, he explored the sublime in nature—placing tiny, contemplative human figures in vast landscapes. In works like Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog and Abbey in the Oakwood, nature becomes a metaphor for human emotion and spiritual reflection. Though once seen as too gloomy, Friedrich was later embraced by Symbolists and modern thinkers as a key figure in art history. 6. Théodore Rousseau (1812–1867) Rousseau turned away from grand, academic history painting to focus on humble forests and rural scenes. He settled in Barbizon, near the Fontainebleau forest, and helped found the Barbizon School—known for painting nature in its untouched state. His quiet, contemplative works invite viewers to pause and connect with nature. Though overlooked for years, Rousseau eventually gained recognition, influencing both the Impressionists and Realists. 7. Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (1796–1875) Corot was a bridge between Classicism and Modernism. His soft contours, misty tones, and gentle compositions were admired by both the Barbizon School and the Impressionists. Generous and supportive, Corot mentored younger artists like Berthe Morisot and Camille Pissarro. His late career was also marked by social advocacy—buying a home for the blind Honoré Daumier and helping the family of Jean-François Millet. 8. Thomas Cole (1801–1848) Considered the father of American landscape painting, Cole founded the Hudson River School. In a young and expanding United States, he captured the grandeur of the American wilderness with both realism and spiritual reverence. His works, such as The Course of Empire, combine allegory with sweeping views of untouched nature. For Cole, landscapes told stories about civilization, decay, and renewal—shaping a new American artistic identity. 9. Albert Bierstadt (1830–1902) A master of the American West, Bierstadt painted vast, dramatic landscapes during expeditions across the Rockies. His large-scale canvases depicted mountains, waterfalls, and glowing skies with theatrical flair. Using radiant light effects, he portrayed nature as a divine spectacle—helping to solidify the American West as a symbol of national identity. Bierstadt’s works were later rediscovered by the environmental movement of the 1960s. 10. Edward Theodore Compton (1849–1921) An English painter who made his home in Germany, Compton combined mountaineering with art. He climbed over 300 peaks, sketchbook in hand, and became a chronicler of the Alps. Bridging Romantic idealism with early 20th-century realism, Compton captured the raw beauty of high-altitude landscapes with scientific precision and emotional depth. His clear lines and realistic details earned him respect among both art lovers and nature enthusiasts. Landscape Art for Your Home As you can see, landscape painting has constantly evolved—shaped by the times, by artists’ visions, and by how humanity connects with nature. From romantic to realistic, contemplative to dramatic, these ten artists show how varied and meaningful landscapes can be through the eyes of great painters. You can find prints from all of these masters in our poster shop. If you're looking to bring the beauty of landscape art into your home, browse our collection—you’re sure to find something that fits your taste. We can’t wait to see which piece becomes your new favorite!