Claude Monet

Sup Claude

"So I'm doing it wrong? The world doesn't actually look like this? Maybe I should get glasses...? Nah..." -Claude Monet(Sophia Davis)

Oscar Claude Monet was a notable French painter born on November 14, 1840 in Paris, France. He was the second son born to Adolphe and Louise Monet. From an early age Claude loved to draw, and though he wasn't very good at it his mother constantly encouraged him. At the age of five his father, who was a grocer at the time, moved the family to La Havre, France. There Adolphe and Claude's uncle ran a business selling supplies to ships. The older he got, the more enthused about his talents he grew. By the age of 15, Monet was a pretty well known caricaturist. He grew to love this distorted branch of painting and sketching and elaborated on his subjects. In 1858, Monet met Eugène Boudin, a landscape painter, who inspired him to use his new techniques on a new class of species-nature. He enrolled and worked at the Academie Suisse in Paris, alongside other talented painters of the day. He was very close to his mother, Louise, and was severely affected by her death in 1857. She had had an immense impact on his life as a boy and artist, and he swore to make her proud. Pretty soon Claude had created a name for himself. He became the founder of his style of artwork, which he called Impressionism. People all over the world were in awe of this new and exotic form of painting. From 1861 to 1862 Monet enrolled in the military but was released due to health concerns. In 1870 he married Camille Doncieux, three years after the birth of their first son, Jean. A few years later the family suffered severe financial issues and between that and everything else Claude Monet resolved to end his life, though it proved unsuccessful. He often became depressed and doubted himself. Due to this, he destroyed over 500 of his own pieces of artwork. In 1878 Camille became severely ill due to the birth of their second son, Michel. As she lay in her bed dying, Claude stayed with a friend's family and became romantically involved with the other man's wife. The two, Alice and Monet, moved away until the death of Alice's husband in 1892. They were then married and lived together until her death in 1911. The year later was when he began having serious issues with his eyesight. His cataracts were terribly damaged and in 1923, at the point of blindness, he submitted to having a surgery done. On December 5, 1926 Oscar Claude Monet died from lung cancer. He passed away and was buried in Giverny, France.

Claude painted many pieces in his lifetime. One of the most notable of which is  called "Impression, Sunrise." Painted in Le Havre, France in 1872, this piece of artwork marks the beginning of the Impressionism era. Impressionism is a "19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities, ordinary subject matter, inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience, and unusual visual angles." Monet became famous because he was different. Instead of using the same old techniques like the rest of the world, he let loose his creativity and it turned out well for him. Impression, Sunrise in particular was so contrary and unique in that many artists and people thought it was incomplete. Instead of adding detail, and defining certain characteristics of the painting, Claude used simple, blunt and abstract techniques. Of course this style took getting used to since it wasn't the "social norm," but like everything else people acclimated. The bluntness and striking colors is what makes this piece beautiful. It is based off of one of the docks near where Monet lived.

Another of Oscar Claude Monet's famous pieces is the "Woman with a Parasol." This masterpiece also displays the extraordinary style of Impressionism. Also painted outdoors, this piece took a considerably longer time to do than "Impression, Sunrise." Monet rarely did portraits and most likely wanted to capture the beauty of the woman he was portraying. "Woman with a Parasol" obviously has more detail, if you can call it that, than his other paintings. Created in 1875,  he exhibits his wife Camille and their young son Jean.

There are many differences and similarities in these two paintings. For example, one is a portrait while the other is a landscape depiction. In "Impression, Sunrise," the scenery is displayed from a higher viewpoint, and the other from a lower. The settings contrast, though the style is the same. The former is set as stationary, while you can almost feel the harsh breeze and sense the movement in the latter painting. 

In conclusion, though Oscar Claude Monet might not have made very many good decisions in his life, he impacted the world. By creating and putting forth his new way of painting, he has inspired and encouraged artists from all stages of life and every era. Not only just to pursue their inner creativity but to give them hope for a better future. He was a go getter for sure.

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