Claude Monet

Claude Monet was a French painter, born in 1840 in Paris. He is best known as one of the leading founders of Impressionism, an artistic movement that focused on capturing light, color, and fleeting moments in everyday life.

Monet often painted landscapes, gardens, rivers, and scenes of modern life. Instead of carefully detailed forms, he used visible brushstrokes and bright colors to show how a scene changed depending on the time of day, weather, and season. His painting "Impression, Sunrise" gave the Impressionist movement its name.

Among his most famous works are his series of water lilies, haystacks, Rouen Cathedral, and the Japanese bridge in his garden at Giverny. In these series, Monet painted the same subject repeatedly under different conditions, showing how light could completely transform its appearance.

Monet’s style is characterized by loose brushwork, soft color transitions, and a strong interest in atmosphere. His work influenced generations of artists and changed the way painters approached landscape and color. He continued to work throughout his life and died in 1926, leaving behind a legacy as one of the most important artists in modern art history.