Claude Monet was born in Paris in 1840 and would become one of the most famous French painters. Monet is often considered the leading figure of the Impressionist style; but this was not always the case. Monet began his career as a caricaturist, showing great talent. Eventually, “Monet began to accompany [Eugène] Boudin as an older artist. . . worked outside, . . . this “true” painting, Monet later claimed, had determined his path as an artist. Monet's focus took off as his popularity grew in the mid-1870s, after he moved from figure painting to the impressionist style of landscape. William Seitz supports this assertion with his quote: "The landscapes painted by Monet at Argenteuil between 1872 and 1877 are his best known and most popular works, and it was during these years that Impressionism came closest to 'a group style. Here . . . he painted the sparkling impressions of French river life which delight us so much today” such as Les berges du Petit-Gennevilliers, Coucher de soleil. When Impressionism began to approach a group style, this allowed the movement to gain notoriety, which ultimately led to Monet's recognition in the art community as a talented painter. In order to produce his captivating landscapes, Monet took advantage of the nature around him, ultimately allowing him to produce his impressive works. Monet was able to succeed in his mission by becoming one of the greatest painters in history by producing landscape scenes inspired by nature such as the red boats, Argenteuil, the arrival of the Normandy train, the magpie, the train in the countryside and the bank of Petit. -Gennevilliers, Sunset.In “Why Monet Abandoned Figure Painting,” Anne Wagner uses Monet's painting of Le Dej...... middle of paper ......ke.edu. https://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/ind_rev/research/nature_and_industry.html (accessed April 3, 2014). House, John. Monet, nature in art. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1986. National Gallery of Art. “Imagining France 1830-1900”. www.nga.gov. http://www.nga.gov/content/dam/ngaweb/Education/learning-resources/teaching-packets/pdfs/picturing_france.pdf (accessed April 3, 2014). Nichols, Catherine and Claude Monet. Claude Monet. New York: Rosen Pub. Group PowerKids Press, 2006. Seitz, William C. and Claude Monet. Monet. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, 1982. Wagner, Anne. “Why Monet abandoned figure painting.” The Art Bulletin, December 1994. Wildenstein, Daniel and Claude Monet. . Paris: La Bibliothèque des arts, 1974. Wood, James N.. Impressionism and Post-Impressionism at the Art Institute of Chicago. Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2000.