Claude Monet was a pioneering French artist and founder of Impressionism, widely regarded as one of the most influential painters in the history of modern art. Born in Paris and raised in Le Havre, Monet developed an early passion for drawing and landscape painting. Encouraged by artist Eugène Boudin, he embraced plein air painting, working outdoors to capture the changing effects of light and atmosphere.
Monet became internationally famous for his luminous landscapes and innovative brushwork, which emphasized fleeting visual impressions rather than precise detail. His painting Impression, Sunrise inspired the name of the Impressionist movement after its exhibition in 1874. Throughout his career, Monet repeatedly painted the same subjects—such as haystacks, Rouen Cathedral, and the water lily pond at his home in Giverny—to explore variations in light, weather, and season.
In later life, his celebrated Water Lilies series pushed painting toward abstraction and profoundly influenced modern art. Today, Monet remains one of the world’s most beloved and recognizable artists, admired for transforming the way nature and light are represented in painting.
