CLAUDE OSCAR MONET - PART 2
His Life after the 'Impressionist" Movement's Creation
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During the approximate 25 year period 1875-1900 he set for himself a new course - the difficult, if not impossible, task of painting ever-changing seasonal environments and atmospheric changes associated with the elements - sun, rain, wind, snow and frost. Each situation had constantly changing conditions and it was the light and atmosphere that were his primary concerns.

" The subject is of secondary importance to me; what I want to reproduce is that which is in between the subject and me." ……Claude Monet Haystacks, Poster #3884, 22 1/2”H x 28”W

He began working in ‘series’ by setting up multiple canvases. He’d paint one canvas as long as the light was appropriate, then move onto the next canvas. A few of the series were: Views of the Tuileries, 1876-77; Gare Saint Lazare, railroad station, 1877; The Thaw on the Seine at Vetheuil, 1880; The Hay Stacks or Grain Stacks, 1890-91; The Poplars on the Banks of the Epte, 1891-92; The Rouen Cathedral, 1891-95; two Waterlilies series; and Waterlilies Decorations, 1916-26. Rouen Cathedral, Puzzle #3874

The major turning points that elevated Monet to innovator and master status began in 1887 when he exhibited at Durand-Ruel’s New York Gallery. The show was successful and received outstanding reviews. The second important show was Monet and Auguste Rodin’s two-man Paris exhibition in 1889 at Georges Petit’s. This show confirmed Monet as an 'innovator.' And in 1891, at Durand-Ruel’s Paris Gallery, the Haystack Series was completely sold. From then on, he was established as a 'master' and all major galleries and collectors wanted his work.

With his financial situation greatly improved, he purchased his rental home at Giverny in Eure, on the Seine about 50 miles from Paris. The Monets traveled throughout the continent and London and he painted in the various locations. He’d also travel and paint with friends such as Renoir.

Family, friends and guests were always very important to Monet and early one morning at Giverny, while the Monets were entertaining their guests: Mary Cassatt, Paul Cezanne, Auguste Rodin, Georges Clemenceau, and Gustave Geffroy, who said of him,

"Suddenly Monet grabbed up his palette and brushes. ‘The sun is out again,’ he said, but at that moment he was the only one who knew it. Look as we might, we still saw nothing." ……Gustave Geffroy

At a very young age, he painted flowers and bouquets and in later years continued doing so if the weather prohibited painting outside. He also loved gardening and developed his skills by planting a garden at each of the families’ earlier country rental properties. He would dig trenches in his gardens in order to have the correct angle or view for his painting, then paint a canvas while the light was correct for that particular view.

The Giverny gardens were the largest of all of his gardens. He created a pond and built a Japanese-style bridge over it, then planted flowers and trees and introduced waterlilies into his pond. The gardens flourished and became magical and enchanting. Eventually, it was necessary for six gardeners to maintain the gardens.

"It took me time to understand my waterlilies... I had planted them for the pleasure of it; I grew them without ever thinking of painting them... A landscape doesn't permeate one's being in one day..."……Claude Monet "Suddenly I had the revelation of how magical my pond is. I took up my palette. Since that time I have scarcely had any other model." ………Claude Monet
	Japanese Bridge, Mousepad TAL504 View Our Mousepads Japanese Bridge, Puzzle #3876 View Our Games

There was a tremendous amount of work produced in the forty-three years that he lived at Giverny - individual paintings, multiple views of the Japanese bridge, two extended series of his Waterlilies; a triptych; plus panels of abstracted pond views titled, Nympheas, 1916-26.

Waterlilies Stained Glass Lamp #3863 View Our Selection of Stained Glass Lamps	Waterlilies Stained Glass Circle #3885 View Our Selection of Stained Glass

In his last years, there were more hardships. His beloved Alice died in 1911. He was close to despair and unable to work, even losing interest in his gardens. Then in 1914, when his oldest son, Jean, died, Claude Monet almost became a recluse. His only outside contacts were Jean’s widow, Blanche, and friend, Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau.

The first indications of astigmatism and double cataracts appeared in 1907 and fourteen years later he consented to eye surgeries. By then, one eye was beyond repair and an advanced cataract was removed from the other eye. But essentially he was blind. He also suffered from arthritis and his daughter-in-law, Blanche attended to him for the rest of his life.

Monet continued to paint even though he could barely see, burning many of the canvases. He would place his paints on his palette exactly as he had done for years and estimate how much paint was on his brush and where it should be applied on the canvas. His paintings' surfaces became more physical and subject matters more abstracted, partially due to the necessity of close observation and his limited eyesight. But, even with all of his physical hindrances during the very last part of his life, he still created phenomenal work includng the abstracted project, Nympheas, 1916-26 which he donated to the French Government. The panels are installed in their own specially designed space at the Museum of the Prangerie, Paris.

Water Lilies Print, 39 3/8” x 15 3/4”(3997) $65

And finally, suffering from lung cancer, Claude Oscar Monet passed away December 5, 1926.

Michael Monet, the youngest son, inherited the estate and after his death in 1966, left the house and it's contents to the French Government. Today, the house and the gardens are open to the public. The magnificent Claude Monet collection at the Marmottan Museum in Paris is from the Michael Monet legacy, too.

Claude Monet’s work can be seen in almost every major museum throughout the world.