Claude Monet

Claude Monet was a famous painter. You have probably seen some of his paintings. Monet was born in 1840 in Paris, France. His mother died in 1857. Life was not easy for him, but he had talent. His talent helped him throughout his life. His art began in drawing little cartoon pictures. A man by the name of Boudin noticed Monet’s talent and gave him his first painting lesson. He was the one who encouraged Monet to paint outdoors. His family was not very happy about his job as a painter.

Monet had to go to Northern Africa, but when he got back, he went to Paris to get some more painting lessons. Monet’s paintings are famous for their impression of light. Most of his paintings were painted outdoors. In this time, most painting was done inside in a studio. Painting outdoors was a new idea with painting. The type of painting that he was doing is called Impressionism. More and more people began to like this style of painting.

Monet had bad eyesight and other health problems. This made it difficult to paint. But he painted until the day he died. One of his most famous paintings is of water lilies. Monet died of lung cancer at the age of 83.