Claude Monet
(1840 - 1926)
Born: Paris, France
Style: Impressionism
Famous Works:
- Haystacks at Chailly at Sunrise (1865)
- The River, Au Bord de l'Eau, Bennecourt (1868)
- Water Lilies, Giverny (1907)
Claude Monet, a leader of Impressionism, has left indelible marks in the world of art. Impressionism, a term coined from the title of one of Monet's paintings in 1874, was scorned by critics when the canvases where first shown. It is ironic then that this artist has come to be one of the best known and loved artists of the twentieth century. After prospering in the 1880s, Monet bought his home at Giverny, and built the famous water garden, which came to be a dominant theme in his paintings throughout his entire career. Monet depicted cathedrals and haystacks in different stages of light in the day, creating a body of work that established his place as a painter of light. In 1899-1900 Monet's focus turned almost entirely to his beloved water lilies. He created enormous cycles of paintings of this subject, exploring light, motion, and color, and wrapped in a flickering field of brush strokes. Monet's truly modern creations were so innovative he became a stepping-stone for the art movement to come. His use of luminosity and color were so revolutionary his paintings sparkled and shimmered with light and movement. It can be said that Monet went beyond the tenets of Impressionism, and was instead the pioneer of the Abstract Expressionism.
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