Claude Monet, a 19th-century French painter, was the most famous artist associated with the movement known as Impressionism. Monet was born on November 14, 1840, and even as a young man he was known for producing small portraits in charcoal. In 1858 Monet met the artist Eugène Boudin, who became his mentor and introduced Monet to painting outdoors, or “en plein air” as it came to be known. In 1859, at the age of 19, Monet moved to Paris to become a professional artist. Most artists of his time tried to imitate nature realistically, but in his landscape painting Monet instead sought to portray nature as it appeared to him. In particular, he was interested in how light affects the ways that we perceive colour. In one of his most famous series of works, Monet painted the cathedral in Rouen, France at several different times of day, showing how changes in natural light make the cathedral appear to change colour. In 1883,
Monet moved to a small French town called Giverny, where he built an elaborate garden. This garden, in particular its water lily ponds, became the chief subject of Monet’s later paintings. Monet’s paintings of water lilies were extremely influential to 20th-century modern artists. In these paintings, Monet used the landscape merely as a starting point, creating abstract fields of vibrant colour. These paintings relied on broad, thick brushstrokes. The texture of these brushstrokes gave the canvases a tactile quality that contrasted sharply with the smooth canvases produced by more traditional artists. Though he struggled financially throughout his life, when Monet died in 1926, he was one of the most famous and influential painters in the world.
Questions
1) This passage would most likely be found in
A. a newspaper
B. an encyclopedia
C. a magazine
D. a blog
2) Based on information in the passage, it can be inferred that the phrase “a tactile quality” suggests that Monet’s canvases were
A. colorful
B. beautiful
C. smooth
D. rough
3) According to the passage, Monet moved to Paris in 1859 to
A. join the Impressionism movement
B. paint cathedrals
C. become a professional artist
D. build an elaborate garden
4) The tone of the passage can best be described as
A. factual
B. passionate
C. clever
D. adoring