Claude Monet (1840–1926) is recognized as one of the pioneers of the Impressionism movement, which began in the late 19th century and profoundly influenced 20th-century art. Monet’s artistic career was shaped not only by formal transformations but also by emotional turmoil, psychological struggles, and physical health issues throughout his life.

^{Water Lillies (Flickr)}

Early Period: Difficult Conditions and Initial Mental Crises

The year 1867 marks a turning point in Monet’s life. His first son, Jean Monet, was born in Paris that year. However, at the same time, Monet was experiencing severe financial difficulties. In 1868, he was forced to leave Paris with his family; Camille Doncieux and their children temporarily stayed with friends in the countryside. These financial pressures severely affected the artist’s mental health, leading to a suicide attempt in 1868 when he jumped into the Seine River.

During this period, a notable thematic shift can be observed in Monet’s paintings. The Cradle (1867)—depicting the artist’s son Jean and Camille—was his first work to portray his son. That same year, he painted landscapes such as The Beach at Sainte-Adresse, but from 1868 onward, he turned toward still life featuring grapes, pears, and dead birds. This genre, labeled by 19th-century French artists, reflects Monet’s depressive state. The subsequent winter landscapes—such as Ice Floes on the Seine at Bougival, Snow on the River—visually express this mental state through cold colors and stillness.

As an artist who embraced the en plein air technique, Monet placed great emphasis on the effects of light and shadow in nature. However, during this period, his deliberate use of gray, blue, and cool tones consciously reflected his inner condition. After 1868, his work gradually revived with an increasing richness of color. His marriage to Camille Doncieux in 1870 and the completion of Impression, Sunrise in 1874 marked the beginning of the "Impressionism" movement in the art world.

^{Madame Monet and Her Son (Flickr)}

Losses and the Process of Coping Through Art

The birth of Monet’s second son in 1878 coincided with the decline of Camille Monet’s health, leading to her death in 1879. This loss had a profound impact on Monet. His portrait of Camille on her deathbed (Camille Monet on Her Deathbed) is pale in color, texture-wise lifeless, and still. Monet described his feelings while painting this work:  “I found myself staring at [my wife’s] tragic countenance, automatically trying to identify the sequence, the proportion of light and shade in the colors that death had imposed on [her] immobile face. Shades of blue, yellow, gray, and I don’t know what. . . . In spite of myself, my reflexes drew me into the unconscious operation that is but the daily order of my life. Pity me, my friend.”^【1】  This statement reveals how the artist instinctively sought refuge in his artistic identity to suppress the emotional shock he was experiencing, attempting to objectify his feelings through art.

After Camille’s death, Monet again turned to still life, painting fruits, vases, and dead animals in his studio. This mode of production indicated both a physical withdrawal into the home and a psychological turning inward. Starting in 1880, he gradually returned to outdoor landscapes, initially through winter scenes. His emotional recovery progressed alongside a renewed engagement with the natural environment.

Physical Limitations and Artistic Transformation

In 1912, Monet was diagnosed with cataracts. This eye condition directly affected his vision and, consequently, his artistic production. Between 1914 and 1917, while continuing to work on flowers and water lilies, his brushstrokes became thicker and the abstraction in his works increased. This change was a result of both visual impairment and emotional fragility. Monet complained during this period that colors appeared “muddy and weak.”

The color distortions caused by cataracts are reflected in his artworks. Some versions of the Japanese Bridge series prominently feature dominant blue and later red tones. Following surgeries in 1923–24, which partially restored his vision, Monet returned to softer tones and more balanced brushwork. This temporary abstraction and dominance of red hues were less an artistic choice and more a consequence of his physical condition.

^{Frost, sun effect (Musée d'Orsay)}

Personality Traits and Artistic Approach

Monet’s personality left a profound impression on his contemporaries and acquaintances as much as his art did. In Lilla Cabot Perry’s memoirs from 1889 to 1909, Monet is described as sincere, determined, and possessing a strong artistic conscience. Monet reportedly burned dozens of canvases at times and expressed concern over the permanence of his works, stating, “Once I am dead no one will destroy any of my paintings, no matter how poor they may be.”^【2】 

Monet developed an artistic philosophy emphasizing the importance of visual observation. He advocated painting what one truly sees: “When you go out to paint, try to forget what objects you have before you, a tree, a house, a field or whatever. Merely think here is a little square of blue, here an oblong of pink, here a streak of yellow, and paint it just as it looks to you, the exact color and shape.”^【3】  This approach is at the core of Impressionism’s fundamental principle of “direct perception.”

Monet’s close interest in nature, children, and animals reflected both in his personal life and in his painting subjects. His home and garden in Giverny became, in his later years, both a refuge and a primary source of inspiration. The greenhouses and water gardens he established in his garden are the direct subjects of his Water Lilies and Japanese Bridge series. His daily life was as integrated with nature as his art.