Claude Monet was a famous French impressionist painter known for his paintings of landscapes, gardens, and water lilies. As a young man, he showed an early talent for caricatures and landscape painting under the tutelage of Eugene Boudin. Monet helped establish impressionism in the late 19th century by focusing on capturing fleeting visual impressions defined by light and color rather than traditional techniques. He painted several iconic series on the same subject in different lights, pioneering a new style that influenced modern art.