claude

© Cynthia Willett 2016
Who Was Claude Monet?
An Artist Study
by Cynthia Willett

Who was
Claude Monet?
An Artist Study
By Cynthia Willett
This focus unit introduces students of all ages to the Impressionist paint-
er Claude Monet, who loved to paint beautiful natural environments in France.
They will be guided to look closely at Monet’s paintings. They will be invited to
identify the multitude of colors and textures he chose, and to experiment with
colors in the way that Monet did. They will mix their own unique palettes of
color and create garden and water lily paintings in the manner of Monet. They
will conduct a study of water lilies as they observe authentic plants grown from
seeds. A shadow box project will allow for exploration of the water lily pond in
three-dimensions. Twelve prints are included for you to display as the children
work on their projects and as they learn to appreciate the beautiful works of
Claude Monet.
Through the study of art and the work of artists, students develop many
attributes. They learn to value their unique skills and recognize those of oth-
ers. They learn to appreciate and develop their personal ideas and approaches
to expression. They develop insights into their own culture and their connec-
tions to the cultures of the world. They experience occasions for intellectual
and emotional reflection. The practice of art offers opportunities to express
thoughts and feelings that are bounded by everyday signs and symbols.
It is fitting that the works of Claude Monet be experienced deeply and
richly in an educational setting, much in the same way that he would have
done while celebrating the beauty of the world around him through his art.

Discussions
1. Who was Claude Monet?
2. Claude’s Flower Garden
3. Claude’s Garden Paintings
4. Claude’s Water Garden
5. Claude’s Water Lily Paintings
6. Claude’s Colors; Taking a Closer Look
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_Lilies

1. Who was Claude Monet?
Claude Monet was an artist who lived in France about 200 years ago. He loved
painting nature and the light of the sun shining on everything; and discovering the many
colors to be found in the flowers, trees, people and skies.
Artists are people who love to create things. Some artists like to draw. Others like
to paint. Some like to make objects and some like to make photographs. Some like to do
all of those things. Artists try to draw or paint the things that interest them in order to
understand them better. Many artists choose to paint nature because of the infinite varie-
ty of colors and shapes they find there.
Claude liked painting nature because he was interested in how the changing sun-
light changed the scene—from day to night and from season to season. He sometime
painted the same scene over and over to record these changes. His style of painting was
called Impressionist, because, instead of crisp details, he painted only the impression of
light on the objects.
http://www.claudemonetgallery.org/
Claude Monet, Self-Portrait with a Beret, 1886

2. Claude’s Flower Garden
Claude found a house in the country town of Giverny, a part of France
that is known for its warm sunshine and beautiful landscapes. Claude
loved gardening too, and he wanted to plant a garden there that would be
like a painting—full of colors and textures.
Do you ever look at flowers and think they are like a painting? We can
see all of the colors of the rainbow in flowers. Close your eyes now. Think
of flowers. Maybe the flowers are growing at your home, or maybe you have
a flower garden. You might have noticed flowers growing or in bouquets on
the way to school. Maybe you have a vase of flowers in your house. You may
even have a favorite type of flower. Everyone has their own thoughts about
how flowers look and smell. Think of the words you would use to describe
your flowers. After you create a picture in your mind, open your eyes. If
you would like to tell us about the flowers you imagined, please raise your
hand.
http://giverny.org/gardens/fcm/visitgb.htm

3. Claude’s Garden Paintings
Look at this painting of the Claude’s garden. What do you notice
about the colors? Are there any colors you see that he used more of?
What about the colors he used less of? Are there any that seem almost
hidden? How did he create the flowers? Did he use a lot of lines? If so,
where are the lines?
How did he make the blossoms? Do you recognize the flowers?
When you look at this painting, how does it make you feel? Can you
tell what the weather might be in the garden? Do you see any struc-
tures in this painting? What other things do you see that are not flow-
ers? Can you talk about how you feel when you see the path? How
many paths do you see? What would it be like to walk along this path
through the garden? Can imagine the scents of the garden? What
would you would smell?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Monet

Here are two more examples
of Monet’s special way of painting
gardens. Can you identify any
flowers that you are familiar with?
Can you describe any other inter-
esting features of this painting?
How do you think the chil-
dren feel in the painting? Can you
describe what they may be doing?
Who do you think they are? (They
are his sons, Jean and Michel.)
Any ideas about the seasons
in each one? How did Claude paint
the sky and the light differently in
each painting? Would you like to
live in the house that is surround-
ed by a beautiful garden?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Claude_Monet

4. Claude’s Water Garden
Claude also planted a garden in the water. His water garden contained
a type of plant that did not need soil, but absorbed all of the minerals it need-
ed from the water. This plant is called a water lily. Water lilies have very
long stems that reach all the way down to the floor of the pond. Their leaves
are big and flat, and spread out across the surface of the water to catch sun-
light. Then they produce a bloom. This bloom can be of many shapes, sizes
and colors. The blooms are called water lilies. They look like this as they
float along the surface, attracting little pond frogs and insects.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Monet

5. Claude’s Water Lily Paintings
Here is one of Claude’s water lily paintings. How do you think he
made the plants look like they were growing in the water rather than
from the soil on the ground? What colors did he use to make the paint-
ing look like a water painting? Can you tell how many different shade of
blue there are in the painting? Where did he use the deepest shades? Why
did he use the deepest shades in some areas and the lightest shades in
others? Did Claude use any lines in this painting? How would you de-
scribe the types of lines he used? What do the lines represent? Can you
talk about his color choices for the water lilies? Can you tell where the
light is coming from in the painting? If you were sitting on the side of
this pond, how would you feel?

6. Claude’s Colors: Taking a Closer Look
Display several of various water lily paintings by Monet. Or-
ganize a “gallery walk”, asking the students to pass quietly by
each print, looking closely at the details. Gather afterwards as a
group. Ask for volunteers to talk about their observations.
Guide the discussion to the tonal qualities of the colors:
What did you notice about Monet’s use of color?
Probe deeper: How did Monet achieve the pastel colors? Can
you see where he used the pure color tones? Where do you see
mixed colors? Where do you see pure colors?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

How did he mix colors to create the varieties of pastels? Can you describe
how his palette changed when he was painting reflections?
http://
en.wikipedia.o
rg/wiki/
Water_Lilies

Do you think perspective was important to Monet? Did he use a
horizon line in the paintings? If not, how did he establish perspec-
tive?

Let’s look at the colors Monet chose for these two paintings. How
do they differ? How are they the same?
Does one have a cooler feel? Did he choose warmer colors in one?
What do you think influenced his color choices?

Look carefully at these two paintings. What can you say about the
setting? Can you see evidence of the time of day in the colors?
What about the season? Why do you say that?

Projects
1. Paint a Flower Garden
2. Paint a Water Lily Pond
3. Grow Water Lilies
4. Make a Shadowbox of Claude’s
Pond at Giverny

“When you go out to paint, try to forget what objects you
have before you — a tree, a house, a field. . . . 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”. — Claude Monet
Below, you can see Monet painting the water lilies inside of
his “Studio Boat”.
Claude Monet, The Studio Boat, 1874
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_Lilies © Cynthia Willett 2016

1. Paint a Flower Garden
Materials needed: Large prints of Monet’s gardens; 22” x 28” (or larger) sheet of heavy
white poster board; paints in all colors, including white and black; paint brushes of different
length and width; water and paper towels for rinsing and tidying
Preparation: Have a sheet of poster board ready and a set of colors mixed and two large
brushes ready for the next part of the lesson. You will be painting as you speak to the class.
You are painting and speaking as Monet might as he painted.
Discussion:
If you were Monet and you were looking at this beautiful garden, what would you be think-
ing? (Accept all responses.) Being an artist, Monet was very interested in capturing the
beauty of the garden in a painting. He took his paint box, he took his canvas, he took his
paintbrushes and walked out into the garden. He looked around a little, and then he began
to paint. While he painted, he did not think about the exact way the flowers should look. He
let his eye tell his mind about the colors and shapes, and how they changed when the light
changed. Today you can look at the prints of his flower garden for your inspiration, and al-
so think about the gardens you have visited or planted, to help get you started on you gar-
den paintings. You are painting the garden as it might look in a certain light, and think of
the general details to start. You colors can be applied in washes to start, indicating the lay of
the land, and then you can apply blobs and colors to suggest the flowers and foliage, finish-
ing up with a few details.
http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Water_Lilies

Materials needed: Large prints of Monet’s water lilies; 22” x 28” (or larger) sheet of
heavy white poster board; paints in all colors, including white and black; paint
brushes of different length and width; water and paper towels.
Preparation: Have a sheet of poster board ready and a set of colors mixed and two
large brushes ready for the next part of the lesson. You will be painting as you
speak to the class. You are painting and speaking as Monet might as he painted.
Discussion:
If you were Monet and you were looking at these beautiful water lilies, what would
you be thinking? (Accept all responses.) Being an artist, Monet was very interested
in capturing the beauty of the pond in different types of light. He did not think
about the exact way the pond and flowers should look. He let his eye tell his mind
about the colors and shapes, and how they changed when the light changed. Today
you can look at the prints of his water lilies for your inspiration, and also think
about the gardens you have visited or planted, to help get you started on you gar-
den paintings. While he painted, Monet did not think about the parts of the plants
and the water. He focused his eye and mind upon the way that the light changed
the colors of the sky, plants and water.
I will show you 3 steps in painting a lily pond that will help you get started on your
own painting. (Demonstrate this for the class.)

Demonstrate How to Paint a
Water Lily Pond
(Paint fast, vertical brushstrokes. Introduce the steps and
procedure as you paint.)
Monet saw that the light from the sky threw a reflection of
the sky down into the water, like a mirror. So, he painted
his first brushstrokes quickly, because light moves very
fast. If he did not get the light from the sky and water
painted quickly, the scene he was looking at would change!
(Continue to paint as you describe the next step.)
I will lay in a horizontal stroke to establish a horizon. Remember
that this horizon line may be very high also. A high horizon line
will show more pond. A mid-point line will show the surrounding
trees and plants. Next, I will quickly mix colors to match the col-
ors I see in the water.
(Prepare the palette with your selected lily pad colors.
Speak as you paint, allowing the students to associate your
narrative with your painting.)
Now I will begin to paint the beautiful lily pads floating
across the top of the pond. They are all moving. What shape
do you think a lily pad would be? (Ovals, circles).
I will paint a big one in the front. This one is moving to-
ward me. (Paint an oval in the foreground.)
Now I will paint medium pad in above that one, further
away. (Paint this one.)

Preparation: You will need a sheet of 22 x 28” heavyweight poster board for each child,
mounted on the wall or a large easel; a set of several sizes of paint brushes; various tempera
colors; a small cup of white paint for tints and a small cup of black for shades.
Procedure:
Mount a sheet of 22 x 28 of poster board horizontally. Repeat the process described:
1. Have the child start with the largest brush, and make broad vertical strokes to cover the
sheet. This will create the surface illusion of sky reflected into water that we want to
achieve.
2. Secondly, have the child paint a horizontal line from side to side, to indicate the horizon.
3. Third, ask the child to fill in more natural details, if they prefer, above the horizon line.
These may be trees around the pond, some vines, etc.
4. Then ask the child to select a new contrasting color, and to place a few lily pads across
the pond, below the horizon line.
5. Allow the painting to dry. Then the child can add lilies, using colors that contrast with
the pad colors.

http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/pictures/20000/nahled/white-water-lily.jpg
4. Grow Your Own Water Lilies
1. Prepare a large planting container for starting your seeds. To do this, add
a couple inches of garden soil to the bottom of the container, then fill the
container with warm water. Wait until the sediment has settled to the
bottom and then compress the soil. Collect seeds from living specimens or
purchase them from science education companies online.
2. Sprinkle your water lily seeds on the compressed soil. Gently press them
into the dirt. Cover the seeds with a thin layer of white sand. This step
will help you to see when your water lilies sprout
3. Once your water lilies have sprouted a couple of leaves, it will be time to
transplant them into individual containers. Prepare your new containers
by adding a layer of garden soil to the bottom of each pot. Now you are
ready for planting water lilies in their own containers.
4. Plant one water lily in each container. Plant the seedling to the side of the
container and cover it up to the top of its root ball with soil. Compress
the soil and fill the container with warm water. Then submerge your wa-
ter lilies in your pond.

5. Make a Shadowbox of Claude’s
Water Lily Pond
Materials needed:
A shoe box or sturdy cardboard box, with one side removed; hand painted prepared
“wallpaper” inspired by Monet prints; paper glue or Elmer’s glue; set of paints for touch-
ups; small paintbrushes; tissue paper; small tissue balls, cotton balls and/or pompoms for
lilies; green felt ovals or Model magic discs for lily pads; transparent papers for clouds and
water effects
Procedure:
1. Have the child the child line the box with the Monet-inspired pages, beginning with the
inside back wall.
2. Glue additional pieces of the wallpaper to the sides, top and bottom. Press firmly into
place at seams to create a fully lined interior.

Make a Shadowbox of Claude’s Water Lily Pond, cont.
3. Lay down some twists and strips of tissue paper to build the pond on the floor of the
box. Using tissue, pompoms or Model Magic, create a set of lily pads that resemble those
shown on your wallpaper. Glue these into the pond area and allow them to dry.
4. Cut or tear strips of greenery to hang from the sides, resembling the branches of willow
trees. Attach them near the side corners. Use transparent paper or cotton to create clouds.
Attach them to the ceiling area.

Make a Shadowbox of Claude’s Water Lily Pond, cont.
5. After all collage pieces have dried thoroughly, create a “frame” of cardboard, and attach
to the front of the shadowbox as shown.

Gallery
The following frames show prints of the paintings shown in the
projects. Copy them out in high color resolution to maintain vi-
brancy and clarity. Display these beautiful prints in your class-
room to inspire the children as they complete their projects and
create their own versions.

Claude Monet, Irises in Monet's Garden, 1900
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Monet

Claude Monet, A Pathway in Monet’s Garden, 1902

Claude Monet, Water Lilies and the Japanese-Bridge, 1897-1899

Claude Monet, The Artists Garden At Vetheuil, 1880
http://www.wikiart.org/en/claude-monet/

Claude Monet, The Garden in Flower, 1900

Claude Monet, Water lilies, 1917

Claude Monet, Water Lilies , 1908

Claude Monet, Water lilies, 1915

Claude Monet, Nymphéas reflets de saule 1916–1917

Claude Monet, Nymphéas, 1897–1898

Claude Monet, Nymphéas, 1915

Images:
All images in this document are in the Public Domain.
Resource links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_Lilies_(Monet_series)
http://www.theartstory.org/artist-monet-claude.htm
http://giverny.org/monet/welcome.htm
http://giverny.org/monet/biograph/
http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/monet/
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1983.532/

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