Discover more about his life and iconic works
Oscar-Claude Monet (Nov 14, 1840 – Dec 5, 1926) is one of the most famous Western painters of all time. The founder of Impressionist painting, creator of the iconic Water Lilies series, and a symbol of French painting, Monet is a household name, but have you ever come across these lesser-known facts about him?
Scroll on to discover 6 things you may not have known about Claude Monet…
1. Impressionism was named after one of Monet’s paintings
The term “Impressionism” is derived from the title of his painting Impression, soleil levant, which was exhibited in 1874 in the first of the independent exhibitions mounted by Monet and his friends as an alternative to the Salon de Paris.
The name ‘Impressionist’ was first intended as a dig at the group by humorist Louis Leroy. Leroy wrote a derisive review of the Impressionists first exhibition entitled ‘The Exhibition of the Impressionists’, but, strangely enough, the name caught on and made the group famous.