Even at a very early age Monet showed tremendous potential in the world of art and developed a reputation for his natural skill to draw caricatures. At the La Havre School of Arts, Monet whose preferred medium for artwork at the time was charcoal, was taught and encouraged to paint with oil paint and pastels by fellow artist and mentor, Eugène Boudin. It was also Boudin who taught Monet the techniques for “en plein air” or outdoor painting of which many of Monet’s artwork is famous for today.

Monet created and produced many fine works of art and was part of an emerging group of artists dubbed ‘The Impressionists’ by the local media at the time. In 1874, the first Impressionists exhibition took place and featured Monet’s artwork as well as the artwork of other well known artists such as Paul Cezanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Edgar Degas amongst others.

In 1883, Monet moved to Giverny in France where he began developing the famous garden that was to become the inspiration for many of his famous paintings. His garden grew and developed to include a water garden filled with a variety of plants and colourful flowers like Water Lilies and a Japanese style bridge which became the subject of many of Monet’s paintings. The garden in Giverny was also the inspiration for the Water Lily murals which are on display at the Orangerie des Tuileries, Paris. In 1926, after long suffering from poor eyesight and lung cancer, Monet passed away on the 5th of December and after a simple ceremony, buried in Giverny.