Claude Monet was one of the leading Impressionist painters of France as well as a damn handsome man. The portrait photo above is from 1863 when he was 23 and previously known for doing charcoal caricatures in the streets. Man, did he ever move up in the world!
By 1886 he had done the self portrait above with a beret.
And in 1900 he did this, "In the Artist's Garden at Giverny." I once stood in front of this painting in the Musee d' Orsay for over half an hour. One of the guard/attendants, usually quite hard boiled types, walked over after a while and surprisingly spoke to me in English. I expected to be told to move along, but instead, she said, "You love it, don't you? Not everyone takes the time to take it all in. Enjoy your visit, Monsieur." Who gets that sort of treatment in Paris? I'll never forget that day.
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