Rise to Success: Career Highlights of Claude Monet

Discover the career path of Claude Monet, from the first major opportunity to industry-changing achievements.

Claude Monet (1840-1926) was a pivotal French painter and a founder of Impressionism, significantly influencing modern art. He dedicated his career to capturing his subjective perceptions of nature, particularly through plein air landscape painting. His painting, *Impression, Sunrise*, lent its name to the Impressionist movement after being exhibited at the First Impressionist Exhibition in 1874, an event organized by Monet and other artists seeking an alternative to the traditional Salon.

Sections (3)

Full Timeline Early Life & Education Career & Achievements

March 1900: Return to London Hotel

In March 1900, Monet returned to the same London hotel to paint.

December 1900: Water Lilies Exhibition at Durand-Ruel Gallery

From 22 November to 15 December 1900, another exhibition dedicated to Monet was held at the Durand-Ruel gallery, with around ten versions of the Water Lilies exhibited.

1900: Exhibition of Japanese Bridge paintings

In 1900, Monet exhibited his first group of pictures of the garden, devoted primarily to his Japanese bridge.

February 1901: Water Lilies Exhibition in New York City

In February 1901, the same Water Lilies exhibition that was previously at Durand-Ruel Gallery in Paris was organized in New York City, where it was met with great success.

March 1901: London Hotel Stay

Monet stayed in a London hotel from January to March 1901, painting Waterloo Bridge, Charing Cross Bridge and the Houses of Parliament. His visit ended due to pleurisy, and he had to spend three weeks in his hotel room.

1903: Creation of paintings for Les Nymphéas

From 1903 to 1908, Claude Monet created paintings for his exhibition Les Nymphéas. These canvases were created with great difficulty: Monet spent a significant amount of time reworking them in order to find the perfect effects and impressions. When he deemed them unsuccessful he did not hesitate to destroy them.

June 1904: Exhibition: Views of the Thames in London

The series Views of the Thames in London — 1900 to 1904 was exhibited in May and June 1904.

1904: Painting of London, the Parliament, Effects of Sun in the Fog

In 2004, Claude Monet's painting, London, the Parliament, Effects of Sun in the Fog (Londres, le Parlement, trouée de soleil dans le brouillard; 1904), was sold for US$20.1 million.

1905: Modification of aesthetics

Around 1905, Claude Monet began to gradually change his painting aesthetics by abandoning the defined perimeter of the water body, leading to a shift in his artistic perspective. He also experimented with different canvas shapes and sizes, transitioning from traditional rectangular stretchers to square and then circular formats.

1906: Postponement of Durand-Ruel exhibition

In 1906, Claude Monet continually postponed his Durand-Ruel exhibition because he was not satisfied with his works. He spent a significant amount of time reworking them in order to find the perfect effects and impressions. When he deemed them unsuccessful he did not hesitate to destroy them.

December 1908: Sale of Venice paintings

In December 1908, on the way home from Venice, Monet and his wife broke their journey for a four-day stay with Renoir at Cagnes. Once back in Giverny and while not finished Monet sold all of his Venice paintings on 12 December 1908 to the Bernheim-Jeune brothers for 12,000 francs each.

1908: Creation of paintings for Les Nymphéas

May 1909: Opening of Les Nymphéas exhibition

On May 6, 1909, Claude Monet's exhibition, Les Nymphéas, opened to the public after multiple delays since 1906. The exhibition featured 48 paintings, created between 1903 and 1908, showcasing a series of landscapes and water lily scenes, and achieved considerable success.

1909: Exhibition of the first Water Lilies series

In 1909, Monet had a successful exhibition of the first Water Lilies series, consisting of 42 canvases.

1914: Panel Paintings for the French Government

From 1914, Monet produced several panel paintings for the French Government to great financial success.

1916: Work on Cycle of Paintings

Monet primarily worked on his "cycle of paintings" from around 1916.

1918: Panel Paintings for the French Government

Until 1918, Monet produced several panel paintings for the French Government to great financial success and he would later create works for the state.

1919: Landscape Paintings

In 1919, Monet began a series of landscape paintings, although he was not pleased with the outcome. By October, he ceased plein air painting and sold four of the eleven Water Lilies paintings the next month, despite his reluctance.

1920: Use of large canvases

By 1920, Monet admitted that he had grown too accustomed to broad painting to return to small canvases. He would often work on large canvases due to the deterioration of his eyesight

1921: Work on Cycle of Paintings

Monet primarily worked on his "cycle of paintings" until around 1921.

1923: Return to Earlier Style

Following his optical operation in 1923, Monet returned to his style from before a decade ago, emphasizing color schemes of blue and green.

1925: Improved Vision and Retouching of Works

By 1925, Monet's visual impairment had improved, and he began to retouch some of his pre-operative works, with bluer water lilies than before.

1926: Monet's death

Monet continued to evolve the style of his paintings until the end of his life in 1926. In his later career, Monet "transcended" the Impressionist style and begun to push the boundaries of art.

May 1927: Display of panel paintings at Musée de l'Orangerie

In May 1927, 27 panel paintings were displayed in the Musée de l'Orangerie, following lengthy negotiations with the French government. Due to the neglect of Monet's later works, few people attended the showing.

1981: Increased scholarly attention to Monet's works

In 1981, Ronald Pickvance noted that Claude Monet's works after 1880 were increasingly receiving scholarly attention.

2004: Sale of London, the Parliament, Effects of Sun in the Fog

In 2004, Claude Monet's painting, London, the Parliament, Effects of Sun in the Fog (Londres, le Parlement, trouée de soleil dans le brouillard; 1904), was sold for US$20.1 million.

2006: Publication on Monet's painting location

In 2006, the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society published a paper providing evidence that Claude Monet's paintings of Parliament were painted in situ at St. Thomas' Hospital over the river Thames.

May 2008: Record sale for Le Pont du chemin de fer à Argenteuil

On May 6, 2008, Claude Monet's Le Pont du chemin de fer à Argenteuil, an 1873 painting of a railway bridge spanning the Seine near Paris, was bought by an anonymous telephone bidder for a record $41.4 million at Christie's auction in New York. The previous record for a Monet painting was $36.5 million.

June 2008: Record sale for Le bassin aux nymphéas

In June 2008, Claude Monet's Le bassin aux nymphéas (from the water lilies series) sold at Christie's auction in London for £40,921,250 ($80,451,178), nearly doubling the record for the artist. This purchase represented one of the top 20 highest prices paid for a painting at the time.