Monet

Claude Monet is responsible, more than any other artist, for influencing and furthering the Impressionists' Movement. In fact, the name Impressionism was coined by a critic referring, mockingly, to one of Monet's first pieces in this genre, "Impression: Sunrise" (1892). He also was one of the pioneers in Plein Air work in which the artist breaks away from the studio and uses the landscape as his model. This became the focus for the rest of Monet's life, capturing the natural light and color on canvas.

He was born in Paris, France, on November 14, 1840 to parents who encouraged his art. By the age of fifteen, Claude was working as a caricature painter. During his early career, he was associated with other now famous artists, such as, Renoir, Sisley and Bazille.

Monet was married in 1870 to Camille Doncieux who died only nine years later. He remarried in 1892 to Alice Hoschede, whom he had been living with for many years with their eight children from their earlier marriages.

Monet's later work included groups of paintings in which he used the same subject. Haystacks was among these series. He would at times have a dozen canvases being worked on at once. He would move from one to the next as the time passed and weather conditions changed. In this way, the same scene would have different light and color which he captured flawlessly. The most famous of these is the Waterlily series which he created using his personal garden in Giverny as a model. He worked on this series until his death, nearly blind, at the age of 86.