Michel Monet

Claude Monet, Portrait of Michel in a Pompom Hat
Claude Monet, Monet's garden at Vétheuil, 1880, Michel Monet and Jean-Pierre Hoschedé

Michel Monet (17 March 1878 – 1966) was the son of Claude Monet and Camille Doncieux Monet and the brother of Jean Monet.

Early life

Michel Monet was the second son born to Claude and Camille Monet. He was born in 1878 a period of his mother's ill health, which worsened following the birth of her son. She died September 5, 1879 probably of uterine cancer.[1][2] His other brother was Jean, who was born in 1867.[3]

By the time of his mother's death, Alice Hoschedé and her children were living with the Monets at Vétheuil. After Camille Monet's death in 1879, Monet and Alice (along with the children from the two respective families) continued living together at Poissy and later at Giverny.[4] Alice managed the household and supervised the education of Monet and Hoschedé children.[5]

Paintings that include Michel

World War I

Monet and his step-brother Jean-Pierre Hoschedé served the military during World War I.[6][7][nb 1]

Marriage

Monet married Gabrielle Bonaventure in 1927.[9] She died 2 February 1964.[10]

Claude Monet estate

When Monet died in 1926, the entire estate was passed on to his son Michel.[11] As he never spent time in Giverny,[12] Blanche Hoschedé Monet became the caretaker.[11] She was the daughter of Alice and the widow of Jean Monet. She was aided by the former head gardener Louis Lebret. After Blanche died in 1947, the garden was neglected.

Michel Monet died heirless in a car crash in 1966. He had bequeathed the estate to the Académie des beaux-arts. From 1977 onwards, Gérald Van der Kemp, then curator at the Château de Versailles played a key role in the restoration of the House and Gardens, which had been left in a desolate state. In a bid to raise funds, he and his wife Florence appealed to American donors through the "Versailles Foundation-Giverny Inc."[11][13]

In 1966, Michel Monet left the Musée Marmottan Monet his own collection of his father's work, thus creating the world's largest collection of Monet paintings.[14]

Death

He died in 1966 and is buried at the Giverny Church Cemetery, Giverny, France.[2] His wife Gabrielle, father, brother Jean, and sister-in-law Blanche are also buried at the cemetery.[15]

Notes

  1. ↑ Claude Monet, who had previously had an aversion to war, changed his position as German forces marched on Paris. He dedicated paintings to raise funds for victims of the war and donated vegetables to a hospital created for the war effort in Giverny. He created a set of weeping willow paintings on canvas in memory of the soldiers of the war. On 12 November 1918, the day after the Armistice, he offered a weeping willow painting to the French state.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Camille Doncieux". monetpainting.net. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Michel Monet (1878-1966). Find a Grave. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Monet biography - timeline". Giverny.org. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
  4. ↑ Museyon Guides (1 July 2011). Art + Paris Impressionists & Post-Impressionists: The Ultimate Guide to Artists, Paintings and Places in Paris and Normandy. Museyon Guides. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-938450-24-2.
  5. ↑ Monet's Years at Giverny: Beyond Impressionism. Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1978. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-87099-174-5.
  6. ↑ "Let the light shine in". Guardian News. 30 May 2002. Retrieved 6 January 2007.
  7. ↑ Matthias Arnold (2005). Monet. Haus Publishing. p. 61. ISBN 978-1-904950-35-6.
  8. ↑ "Weeping Willows and the First World War". National Gallery of Victoria. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
  9. ↑ Museyon Guides (1 July 2011). Art + Paris Impressionists & Post-Impressionists: The Ultimate Guide to Artists, Paintings and Places in Paris and Normandy. Museyon Guides. p. 266. ISBN 978-1-938450-24-2.
  10. ↑ "Gabrielle Monet". Find a Grave. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Giverny Timeline". Columbus Museum. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Giverny Monet's garden - Restoring Monet's house and garden". Giverny.org. Retrieved August 29, 2014.
  13. ↑ "The Versailles Foundation & Giverny". Theversaillesfoundationinc.com. Retrieved 2013-12-24.
  14. ↑ "Jules and Paul Marmottan". Musée Marmottan. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
  15. ↑ "Monets at Giverny Church Cemetery". Find a Grave. Retrieved August 29, 2014.