Celebrate Claude Monet’s Birthday

This blog post was updated on October 5, 2018.

Claude Monet was born November 14, 1840 in Paris and died December 5, 1926 about 75 kilometres from Paris in his home at Giverny, Normandy. During his prolific career as an artist, he painted hundreds of works of art with a passion to capture his impressions of the French countryside and beyond. With works by the beloved artist and founder of French Impressionism on view across the globe (literally there are numerous “Monets” in museums and galleries on every continent except Antarctica) what better way to celebrate the painters 174^th birthday than enjoying the many gifts he left to art lovers?

Here’s a list of some the best places to see the biggest collections and more important works by the artist.

Musée Marmottan Monet
2 Rue Louis Boilly, 75016 Paris

This Paris museum is home to the world’s largest collection of works by Monet with more than three hundred Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings by the artist.

Musée de l’Orangerie
Jardin Tuileries, 75001 Paris

L’Orangerie boasts the Monet masterpiece, Monet’s large scale masterpiece Les décorations des Nympheas (Water Lilies) as a key component of its fabulous fine art collection. The complete work (two paintings) is displayed in two oval rooms especially designed for them.

Musée d’Orsay
1 Rue de la Légion d’Honneur, 75007 Paris

 

France’s national collection of works by Monet can be found at this popular museum in central Paris and includes many early works and notable pieces such as Luncheon on the Grass and Water Lilies Evening Effect.

Musée Municipal A.G. Poulain
12 Rue du Pont, 27207 Vernon, France

This museum is the closest to Giverny, where the artist lived out the last four decades of his life. Important works here include two paintings given by Monet himself to the town.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115

Boston’s MFA has a collection of 39 works by Monet, one of the largest collections outside of Paris.

Metropolitan Museum of Fine Art
1000 5th Avenue, New York, New York 10028

Key works by Monet at the Met include Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies, Camille Monet on a Garden Bench, Haystacks (Effect of Snow and Sun), and The Houses of Parliament (Effect of Fog).