Monet at Giverny

Claude Monet, as many would know, is known to be the founder of Impressionism, a term which was coined from the title of his painting Impression Sunrise, Impression, Soleil Levant. Born in Paris 1840, his family moved to Le Havre when he was five. Monet's father actually wanted him to go into the family grocery business, however, fortunately Monet pursued his dream to become an artist.

As with many painters, success did not come easy and the first half of his life was marred by poverty, financial stress and the sad death of Camille, his first wife. Monet later married Alice Hoschede, whose estranged husband was previously a wealthy department store owner and patron of the arts. Alice, who had six children of her own, had cared for Monet's two sons when Camille died.

In 1883 the family moved to Giverny where Monet rented a house and two acres from a local landowner. Grief stricken by Camille's death, Monet vowed never to be poor again and worked relentlessly to create some of his best paintings. By 1890, Monet was properous enough to purchase the house and the surrounding buildings and land for his gardens. In this wonderful garden, you'll see rows of beautiful flowers that inspired Monet and the signature Weeping Willows and water lillies. Monet's Giverny is well worth a visit.