The Struggle for His Passion

Claude Monet, Self Portrait with a Beret, 1886.

Oscar Claude Monet was born in Paris on November 14th, 1840. In 1845, Monet’s family moved to a small French town called Le Havre. Unfortunately, Le Havre provided very few opportunities for Monet to grow as an artist. Monet’s mother encouraged him to draw as a child, but she passed away in 1852. Monet’s father was a grocer and disapproved of his son’s dream to become an artist. The small town had no museums, exhibitions, or art schools, and therefore lacked any space for an education in the arts. His instruction was limited to advice from his aunt, who painted as a hobby, and his schoolteacher.

Despite the obstacles he faced, Monet still pursued his love for art. He started by drawing caricatures that he copied from French newspapers and magazines. He found an art instructor named François-Charles Ochard who was willing to teach him drawing and other basic techniques. Monet began building a reputation for himself as an artist within Le Havre, and started drawing caricatures for payment.

When Monet was twenty-two years old, he joined academic history painter Charles Gleyre’s studio in Paris. However, Monet found very little success. Only a couple of his pieces were displayed in the annual Salons of the 1860s, and his most ambitious work, Women in the Garden, was rejected. Furthermore, he fell in love with a woman named Camille Léonie Donvieux, but had to keep his relationship with her a secret from his family. His father and aunt agreed to financially support his passion for art if he promised to concentrate on his studies. Therefore, a relationship was unacceptable, and when his family found out Monet and his secret girlfriend were expecting a child together, they threatened to cut him off financially unless he returned home for the summer.