Impressionism
Part 2
More Names to Know
Monet, Renoir, Morisot, Cassatt
• Our first artist this week is named Claude
Monet. Most artists painted in the
Impressionist style for a time, then moved on.
Monet, however, stuck with the principles of
impressionism his whole life.
• In the beginning, he was desperately poor,
and no one thought his paintings would
amount to anything. By the end of his life, he
had become famous and comfortably well-off.
Claude Monet
Le déjeuner sur l'herbe
1865-1866
Here are pictures of Monet as a young and then as an old man. He and another
famous impressionist artist, Auguste Renoir, met as young art students and set
out as art rebels together. (And they remained life-long friends.)
Monet had some early success at
the Salon, when his painting
“Camille, or the Woman in a Green
Dress” was accepted for exhibit in
1866.
It made him get off to a rocky start
with his idol Manet, though. Manet’s
friends and acquaintances began
congratulating him on his great new
painting, which was in fact done by
Monet. (So it isn’t only people
nowadays who get them mixed up.)
Manet actually suspected Monet,
whom he hadn’t met, of using the
name Monet to capitalize on
Manet’s success.
They later patched things up and
became friends.
Monet was fascinated by
the effect of light, and the
way it changed
throughout the day.
Claude Monet
Rouen Cathedral, Facade
(Morning Effect)
1892-1894
Claude Monet
Rouen Cathedral, Facade (Sunlight)
1892-1894
Claude Monet
Rouen Cathedral, Facade
(Full Sunlight)
1892-1894
Claude Monet
Rouen Cathedral, Facade (Sunset)
1892-1894
• As Monet gradually became successful, he was
able to buy a house outside of Paris named
Giverney. Here he created a garden that was a
work of art in its own right, and that gave him
constant inspiration for his paintings.
• Monet is probably best known for is his
paintings of water lilies. He had a pond
created, with a Japanese-style bridge across it,
and filled it with water lilies, and then painted
it in all possible variations.
On the next slide, Garden at Sainte-Adresse,
1867, sketch a portion of the picture that has
at least one figure. Try to catch Monet’s
handling of the strong sunlight. Notice how
the shapes become simplified.
• Monet had a good friend we mentioned
earlier, Auguste Renoir, whom he met as a
young art student. They stayed close friends
throughout their entire lives. You will
remember one of his paintings from the
beginning of the year.
Here are two photos of Renoir, one young and one old. When he was old, he
developed arthritis so badly that he had to have the brushes strapped to his
hands, but he never stopped painting.
Auguste Renoir
Le Moulin de la Galette
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Girl with a Watering Can
1876
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
The Box at the Opera
1874 (Sketch this one.)
Berthe Morisot was one of
the few female
Impressionist painters.
She is seen here in an
1872 portrait by her friend,
Edouard Manet
Here is a photo of young Berthe, and since I couldn’t find a photo of her as an
older woman, I included a painting by Renoir of Morisot and her daughter Julie.
Berthe Morisot
The Cradle
1873
Berthe Morisot
La lecture (Reading: The
Mother and Sister Edma
of the Artist) 1869-70
(Sketch this one.)
Mary Cassatt was an
American woman who lived
in Paris and worked with the
impressionists. She was
especially close to and
influenced by Degas.
She was famous for
showing scenes of mothers
and children, although she
herself did not marry.
She is shown here in a selfportrait from 1878
Mary Cassatt
The Boating Party
1893–94,
Mary Cassatt
The Bath
1893 (Sketch this one.)