Claude Monet was born in Paris, France on November 14, 1840. In 1845 his family moved to Le Havre, France where he would grow up. He proved to be a failure in school and had no interest in working in his father's grocery business. His only interest in life, art, surfaced when he was in his teens. He started earning money with his caricatures at age 15.
In 1858, Monet met Eugene Boudin who recognized his talent, took Monet under his wing, and passed along his passion for outdoor painting. By 1859, Monet decided to pursue an artistic career. Against his parents' wishes, Monet decided to reside in Paris. He met many of the popular French painters during his stay in Paris.
From 1860-1862 Monet performed military service in Algeria. During the rest of the 1860s he experimented with his art, traveled, and formed many friendships with fellow artists. His constant travels throughout his life were directly related to his art. He was totally captivated with natural light, atmosphere and color.
Few of Monet's painting from the 1860s have survived. Throughout the 1860s and 1870s Monet suffered extreme financial hardship. He frequently destroyed his own paintings rather than have them fall into the hands of his creditors. During the 1880s and 1890s Monet gained both critical and financial success. In 1899, he began work on his famous series of paintings of water lilies. Water lilies were plentiful in the gardens of his house in Giverny, France.
He suffered from double cataracts and by the 1920s he was virtually blind. An operation in 1923 restored his sight sufficiently for him to finish a series of 12 large (14 feet wide) water lily panels. He died on December 5, 1926.
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