Meet Claude Monet Claude Monet was a founder of the Impressionist movement Impressionists paint outdoors also known as en plein air a French term that means in the open air Painting outside rather than inside allowed these artists to paint from direct observance of a scene rather than from their memory of it Oscar-Claude Monet was born on November 14 1840 in Paris France When Claude was five years old he and his family moved to Le Havre where his father ran a grocery business When he was 15 years old Claude began his life as an artist by drawing caricatures In 1858 he met Eugène Boudin who introduced him to painting outside and demonstrated how a scene could change as the light changes throughout the day Monet’s focus then changed from pencil drawings to paintings In 1859 Monet traveled to Paris and began his art studies He studied at the Académie Suisse In 1861 Monet entered the military The following year he was discharged due to poor health He returned to Paris and continued studying art 4
In 1870 Monet married artist Camille Doncieux They had two sons Jean and Michel But Monet’s paintings did not sell He became deep in debt As Monet struggled to support his family his father refused to help him In 1874 Monet and several other artists including Paul Cézanne Edgar Degas and Pierre-Auguste Renoir arranged for a public display of their art These artists became known as the Impressionists Though Monet’s work had begun to attract attention it wasn’t until the late 1880s that he began to enjoy any financial success Camille had died in 1879 and in 1892 Monet married Alice Hoschedé The pair settled in Giverny France Monet spent his later years travelling Europe painting natural subjects such as the River Thames in London England and the canals of Venice Italy Claude Monet died on December 5 1926 in Giverny Today his home and gardens are official historical monuments 5
CHAPTER 1 L’ARTISTE Becca blew the eraser dust off her canvas and sighed I’m the worst artist in the whole world She adjusted the photo clipped to her easel I peeked at her painting You’re not the worst artist in the whole world Just in Seattle Gee thanks Logan she said as she rolled her eyes Promise believe me Seriously once you start painting it’ll look better I could tell by her complaining that she didn’t Why is it so crowded in here she asked Her eyes darted around the room Why is there so much junk in this place It’s pretty messy in here isn’t it Why doesn’t anyone clean things up 7
