Claude Monet was arguably the most influential painter of the Impressionist movement; even the word "impressionism" comes from one of Monet's

... Claude Monet was arguably the most influential painter of the Impressionist movement; even the word "impressionism" comes from one of Monet's paintings. Monet's paintings radically transformed the accepted styles of the time. His work influenced countless painters and established the basis of modern painting. However, Monet's technique was as much the culmination of influences by great artists as it was his own creation. Monet was born Oscar-Claude Monet on November 14, 1840 in Paris. He would later drop Oscar from his name, although until 1862, he signed his artwork with this name, while signing his letters "Claude." 1 Monet only lived in Paris for five years until his father, Claude-Adolphe moved the family to Le Havre, a port city in France. At age ten, Monet enrolled at the Le Havre secondary school, although he professed much disdain for it: "School was like a prison for me. I could never resign myself to

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