CLAUDE MONET: Life, Works & Painting Style | Great Artists simply Explained in 3 minutes!

Claude Monet was a famous French painter and one of the founders of Impressionism.

He was born in 1840 in Paris, where he also studied art. He also belonged to a group of artists, such as Renoir and Degas, who joined together as Impressionists and focused on depicting snapshots of light and color.

At first he was married to Camille, with whom he had two sons and who was also his muse and model. After her early death, he married Alice, who, as a widow, brought six children into the marriage. He himself died of lung cancer in 1926 at the age of 86.

His early work includes realistic paintings, some of which Monet exhibited at the Paris Salon.
Later he began to paint Impressionist paintings and was known for his depiction of light, color, atmosphere and a broad open brushstroke. It was a vivid ephemeral technique.

In it, he worked outside in nature and brought his impressions directly to the canvas. The shapes and contours in his works seem to dissolve, creating a sense of movement and light.
One of his most famous works is the painting Impression Sunrise, which also gave its name to the Impressionism movement. It shows the port of Le Havre at sunrise and captures the fleeting colors and reflections of the water and sky.

His series of water lily paintings is also known worldwide, comprising some 250 paintings. They depict his gardens and water lily ponds in Giverny. In this series, water lilies and their reflections in the water are depicted in an abstract manner. Also his series of works showing haystacks are very well known.

It is estimated that he produced over 2000 paintings. These include landscapes, seascapes, gardens, flowers, still lifes and portraits. His work continues to have a major influence on the art world today.