A framed painting by Claude Monet entitled "Nympheas".

Claude Monet (14 November 1840 to 5 December 1926) was a founder of French impressionist painting, and the most consistent and prolific practitioner of the movement's philosophy of expressing one's perceptions before nature, especially as applied to plein air landscape painting. At the beginning of May 1883, Monet and his large family rented a house and 2 acres from a local landowner. The house was situated near the main road between the towns of Vernon and Gasny at Giverny. By November 1890, Monet was prosperous enough to buy the house, the surrounding buildings and the land for his gardens. Monet was fond of painting controlled nature: his own gardens in Giverny, with its water lilies, pond, and bridge. This painting can currently be viewed at Neue Pinakothek in Munich, Germany.