Monet was born in Paris in 1840,the son of a grocer.In about 1856 he began to create paintings from nature.He was in Paris in 1859 and three years later he entered the studio of Gleyre,where he met Renoir.

Monet was an influence on his figure compositions of the 1860s,especially on landscape.He was the leading painter of French landscape.Monet moved to London during the France-Prussian war during 1870 to 1871,after his return to France he lived at Argenteuil(1871-8).He exhibited in most of the Impressionist exhibitions,beginning in 1874.A period of travel followed in the 1880s and in 1883 he acquired a property at Giverny,north-west of Paris.

Later Monet concentrated on the production of the famous series showing a single subject in different lighting conditions,including poplars,cathedrals and so on.