A Guide to Claude Monet and His Impressionism Style

Edited by Hazel Carter Jun 27, 2025 Style Transfer

Monet is known as the founding father of Impressionism. Unlike the traditional paintings, his art style focused on capturing light, shadow, and color. He painted the ever-changing nature on the canvas, which profoundly influenced the development direction of modern art.

This article gives you a brief introduction to Monet’s art style. Moreover, you can learn how to paint Monet style and create works in the Impressionist style.

Part 1. Who Was Monet

Claude Monet (1840–1926) was a French painter. As mentioned above, he was the founding father of Impressionism. His creations defined the aesthetic tone of Impressionism. Monet and fellow artists like Renoir, Degas, and Pissarro were influential figures of the Impressionist movement, named by Monet’s 1872 painting, Impression, Sunrise. They rebelled against the rigid rules of the French Academy. Monet focused on capturing light, atmosphere, and the fleeting beauty of nature.

Monet’s iconic works include Water Lilies, Sunrise Impressions, Haystacks, Rouen Cathedral, Goose in the Stream, Saint Lazare Train Station, and the Parliament House series.

Part 2. Monet’s Art Style and the Key Features of Impressionism

Monet’s art style can be simply defined as Impressionism. He prioritized the sensory experience of light, color, and atmosphere. He focused on how light transforms landscapes, water, and everyday scenes. He was mentored by Eugène Boudin (early mentor), who encouraged him to paint outdoors and observe natural light. Outdoor sketching is the core of Impressionism.

Monet abandoned the muddy tones and black shadows in classical painting. Instead, he used short, broken, and soft color blocks to create vibrancy and movement. Moreover, he repeatedly painted the same subject at different times and under different lighting conditions.

Quick completion is another big characteristic of Monet’s art style. Loose strokes are needed to quickly capture colors and atmosphere. Moreover, Monet’s creation emphasizes the purity of the first impression. Monet is obsessed with painting fleeting moments, such as dawn’s shimmer or twilight’s glow. That creates a sense of impermanent beauty. His Impressionism style emphasizes the overall atmosphere rather than the depiction of details.

Part 3. How to Paint Money Style

You may love Monet’s Impressionism because it merges technical innovation with emotional depth. His paintings are visual feats and invitations to find beauty in the ordinary.

If you want to paint in Claude Monet’s Impressionist style, you will need to let go of rigid detail and focus on capturing fleeting moments and the emotional essence of a scene. Monet preferred oils for their blendability and luminosity. You can draw with the same paints, like oils or acrylics. Also, you need a mix of round, flat, and filbert brushes for varied textures. Moreover, you must prepare other materials like canvas, palettes, and a light palette (portable for outdoor painting).

Monet painted nature scenes like water lilies, gardens, or seascapes. You can select a subject with interesting light effects. Try capturing fast-changing conditions like sunrise, sunset, or fog. You should paint in natural light to observe true colors. Avoid rigid lines and draw with weakening details. Start with mid-tone colors and apply warm tones where light hits. Like Monet, try painting the same scene at different times to master light variations. Don’t overwork.

Bonus: A Quick Way to Turn Ordinary Photos into Monet Art Style

Picwand AI Photo Editor is an all-featured image editing and conversion tool that can change common photos to Monet-style paintings within several clicks. As a casual, if you only want to quickly create Impressionist style from your captured pictures, try using this AI-powered application.

This web-based tool can be easily accessed on any device. You can easily upload a picture and let the AI do the rest. Picwand AI will intelligently analyze your image content and convert it to Monet’s art style. Besides Monet, it also provides other popular styles for you to apply, including Oil Painting, Pencil Drawing,Pixel Art, Anime, Sketch, Cartoon, and Cyberpunk.

Part 4. FAQs of Claude Monet’s Art Style

Question 1. What was Monet’s painting style called?

As mentioned, Claude Monet was an Impressionist painter. He was one of the most famous painters in the Impressionist movement. Monet’s art style is called Impressionism. He often painted the same scene multiple times under different lighting conditions. He focused a lot on painting the transient effects of light and color. He is more than a central figure in the Impressionist movement. You can also see some abstract quality in his later works, like the famous Water Lilies. Surely, the abstract expressionist is also part of his evolution within Impressionism.

Question 2. What principles of design does Monet use?

Color harmony or analogous colors can be the key principle of Monet’s painting style. He used analogous or closely related hues and repetitive brushwork to capture a single subject under varying conditions. Moreover, he used subtle contrasts of light and shadow to display mood. Other principles of Monet’s work include his loose, visible brushstrokes, repetition of shapes and patterns, emphasis on specific elements, asymmetrical balance, and light and color variation of the same subject

Question 3. What is the Impressionist style of art?

Impressionism is an important art movement in the history of Western painting. The Impressionist style of art originated in France in the 1860s. Starting with this art style, painters walked out of the studio and painted in the vastness of nature. Main artists include Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Edgar Degas. Impressionist painters focused on capturing outdoor natural landscapes and moments of ordinary people’s daily lives. That breaks away from traditional academic paintings. The Impressionist art style is still one of the most beloved.

Summary

Monet’s art style has influenced modern art, from Post-Impressionism to Abstract Expressionism. After learning the key techniques and characteristics of Monet’s painting style, you can paint in a similar style. You should practice outdoors and paint different moments of the same scene.