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| My Tribute to Impressionism Copyright 2008 |
Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you.
In honor of this occasion, here is a very brief chronology of the great painter’s life:
Oscar Claude Monet is born November 14, 1840, in Paris to Claude and Louise Monet.
The family moves to Le Havre and Claude studies art with a local artist in the 1850s, and as a teenager becomes somewhat known for his caricatures.
Monet learns to paint en plein air with Eugene Boudin in Le Havre.
Monet commits to becoming a painter and moves to Paris in 1859.
After a stint in the French military in Algiers, Monet enrolls in the Charles Gleyre art studio in 1862 and meets Frederic Bazille, August Renoir, and Alfred Sisley.
Monet paints Woman in A Green Dress in 1866, a painting of his girlfriend, Camille.
Monet’s outdoor paintings of pretty people and landscapes with shimmering light hint of things to come; his son Jean is born in 1867.
Even though Monet produces paintings, such as The Magpie andBathers at La Grenouillere, he goes through a period of rejection and paints at several towns along the Seine.
Claude and Camille are married in 1870 and honeymoon in Trouville where he paints beach and hotel scenes; they move to Argenteuil in 1871 and Monet continues painting landscapes and light.
In 1873 Monet paints Impression Sunrise at the port of LeHavre, which ultimately gives Impressionism its name.
Monet and several painters split from the conservative Salon and form their own painting society in 1874 with the First Impressionist Exhibition. Durand-Ruel becomes a business partner with his gallery and exhibitions.
The Second Impressionist Exhibition is held in 1876, including Monet’s The Bridge at Argenteuil; a third exhibition is held in 1877 and a fourth in 1879.
Michel, a second son, is born to Camille and Claude in 1878. Camille dies in 1879.
During this time Monet has befriended the Hoschede family in Vetheuil, and after Camille’s death the two families live together with Alice helping rear Monet’s children along with her own.
Monet and family move to Giverny in 1883.
Although Monet and Impressionism reach a level of success in the late 1870s and early 1880s, the group is strained, and Monet paints on his own at various locations in the French countryside and along the English Channel; by 1886, the original movement has matured, and whatever affiliation the group had has ended.
Claude and Alice marry in 1892 (she dies in 1911).
In the 1890s Monet continues his quest to paint the changing light by painting a series of now-famous paintings of different motifs: haystacks, poplar trees, a cathedral.
After the turn of the 19th century, Monet turns his attention to his garden at Giverny and spends the rest of his life painting it, including the famous bridge and many views of water lilies on the pond.
Beginning in 1918, Monet begins a series of water lily paintings on large panels that will eventually be installed in the oval galleries of the Orangerie.
Monet dies December 5, 1926.
Happy Birthday Dear Claude, Happy Birthday to You!
And Many More…because your work lives on in museums and collections all over the world and in books and online forever to be enjoyed.
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