Claude Monet changed the art world forever by capturing the fleeting beauty of light and nature. Although he is famous for his serene water lilies and haystacks, his life was filled with struggle, tragedy, and intense self-doubt. In fact, the man who painted the most peaceful gardens in history often slashed his own canvases in fits of rage. Furthermore, he lived in poverty for decades before finally finding success. Prepare to walk across the Japanese bridge with the leader of the Impressionists.
Claude Monet
Claude Monet started his career as a caricature artist. As a teenager in Le Havre, he drew funny, exaggerated portraits of his teachers and locals. Consequently, he made good money selling these charcoal sketches before he ever painted a landscape.
The term “Impressionism” began as an insult from a critic. Journalist Louis Leroy mocked Monet’s painting Impression, Sunrise, claiming it looked like unfinished wallpaper. However, the artists embraced the name and wore it as a badge of honor.
He tried to drown himself in the River Seine due to financial ruin. In 1868, he was so broke and depressed that he attempted suicide. Fortunately, he was a strong swimmer and instinctively saved himself before it was too late.
Local farmers tried to stop him from planting his famous water lilies. Neighbors feared the plants would poison the water and kill their cattle. Therefore, he had to fight with the local council to get permission to build his pond.
He hired a gardener specifically to dust the water lilies. Because soot from nearby trains settled on the leaves, he needed them cleaned daily. Thus, a worker rowed out every morning to wipe them off before Monet started painting.
Claude Monet destroyed hundreds of his own paintings. He was a perfectionist who often took a knife to his canvases when he was not satisfied. In fact, his family had to stop him from burning more art before his death.
He suffered from cataracts that turned his vision yellow and red. As his eyes failed, he could no longer see blue or violet tones correctly. Consequently, his later paintings became much darker and more abstract as he painted from memory.
His first wife, Camille, appears in more than thirty of his paintings. She posed for many different characters in the same scene, such as in Women in the Garden. Sadly, she died young, and he painted a haunting portrait of her on her deathbed.
He diverted a river to create his famous garden in Giverny. He successfully petitioned to redirect a branch of the Epte River to fill his pond. This engineering feat allowed him to maintain the fresh water needed for his lilies.
Interestingly, he claimed to be the only person who ever painted the smog of London beautifully. He loved the British fog because of how it refracted light. Therefore, he traveled to London repeatedly just to paint the Houses of Parliament in the mist.
He refused to attend the funeral of his friend Édouard Manet. Although they were close, Monet was terrified of death and funerals. Thus, he stayed away to avoid confronting the reality of his friend’s passing.
A lottery win helped him become a full-time artist. In 1891, he won 100,000 francs in the French lottery, which gave him financial freedom. This money allowed him to buy the house in Giverny and expand his garden.
He painted the same haystacks twenty-five times to study the light. He set up multiple easels in the field and switched canvases as the sun moved across the sky. Consequently, he captured the exact same subject at every hour of the day.
His Japanese bridge was actually not red in real life. Although it appears vibrant in some paintings, the bridge in his garden was painted green. He chose this color specifically to make it blend in with the surrounding foliage.
Finally, he requested that there be no flowers at his funeral. The man who spent his life painting blossoms thought it would be a waste to cut them for his grave. Instead, he asked for a simple ceremony with only his closest family present.
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