Happy Birthday Monet!

Did you know that today is one of my favorite artists’ birthday? I had the awesome opportunity to view many of his paintings and inspirations in person a few years ago in Buffalo. You can read more about the experience here.

To celebrate his birthday, here are some quick fun facts about Claude Monet:

Claude Monet was born November 14, 1840 and died December 8, 1926
He died at the age of 86, but if he was still alive today he would be 182 years old
Monet came from a French working class family which was in contrast to many prominent painters during that time period
He was an impressionist painter – a term given to the movement by art critic Louis Leroy when reviewing Monet’s “Impression, Sunrise” in the first exhibit of the movement in 1874
The Impressionist movement sought to display the artist’s perception of a subject matter; artists worked en plein air and painted with small touches of paint to capture moments of color and light
Monet’s wife Camille was the subject of several of his paintings
Monet designed his own gardens at this home in Giverny and many of his masterpieces were inspired by this beautiful landscape
He often times reused canvases and because of this many of his paintings may have unknown treasures hidden beneath
Monet had severe cataracts which may have affected his paintings in later years
In his last 30 years he painted about 250 oil paintings

Do you have a favorite Monet painting?

Photos (in order of appearance):

Claude Monet, photograph, 1899, Nadar
Water Lilies and Japanese Bridge, oil on canvas, 1897-1899, Claude Monet
Wheatfields (Snow Effect, Morning), oil on canvas, 1891, Claude Monet
In the Woods at Giverny- Blanche Hoschedé at Her Easel with Suzanne Hoschedé Reading, oil on canvas, 1887, Claude Monet