Claude Monet is possibly one of the most famous French artists in the world. Known not just for his fantastic landscape paintings, but because of his unique interpretation of landscapes and the natural world around him.

Monet is a unique landscape artist because he did not just try to paint landscapes as he could see them, he was not really interested in painting something that looked realistic. Monet painted his impression of a landscape or scene he could see outside; trying to capture movement, light, texture… even wind! Because of this, he became the leader of a group of artists known as Impressionists.

Monet’s painted landscapes are huge! Often incorporating beautiful, delicate colour schemes with a focus on light, movement and texture. He would work outside when painting, using loose, quick, messy brush strokes and building his paintings up layer by layer. Using short brush strokes over and over again allowed him to paint a sense of movement, capturing the atmosphere of his subject.

Can you see the messy brush strokes here? Do you know which painting these sections are from? It’s one of Monet’s most famous landscape paintings…

What do you think about these landscape paintings by Monet? Let me know in the comments.

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DOWNLOAD this page below, for free, as an Artist Research handout to use in your lesson. It includes all of the facts and images, and has questions for students to answer.