Claude Monet as a Modern Artist

Biographical Information
Claude Oscar Monet was born in Paris on November 14, 1840. The son of a successful tradesman, Monet grew up in the town of Le Havre located on the Normandy coast. He showed artistic talent as a teenager, drawing caricatures of local personalities, and by the age of fifteen he was receiving commission for his work. Monet’s formal training began in 1859 at the Academie Suisse, a studio that provided models for aspiring artists to draw and paint, but gave little direct instruction. After serving in the French military in Algeria, Monet joined a Parisian studio run by Charles Gabriel Gleyre in 1862. Like the Academie Suisse, Gleyre’s studio encouraged students to draw from models. In this setting, Monet met several artists who would become friends and fellow Impressionists. Among these were Renoir, Sisley, and Bazille. In 1865 Monet had his first works accepted by the Salon, where they received praise from critics and were purchased by influential ...