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Monet was a family man through and through The story begins when Monet met his first wife Camille in 1865 - she would go on to pose for more than 30 paintings over a period of 14 years.
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The young, 19-year-old girl quickly moved into Monet's house. They lived together in poverty, moving multiple times to evade debt collectors. Monet's family wasn't supportive of their union, and demanded he end the courtship immediately after hearing that Camille was pregnant. She gave birth to their first son, Jean, in 1868.
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"I didn't have enough money to stay in Paris while Camille was in labor... She's given birth to a big and beautiful boy, and i don't know how, but I feel that I love him. And it pains me to think of his mother with nothing to eat... Now, she and I are totally without money."
Monet in a letter, 1868
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The couple married a few years later in 1970, but it would be decades before Monet would earn more than he spent. This all changed when Ernest Hoschedé, a successful businessman, enlisted Monet to be the artist-in-residence at his home in Montgeron.
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Camille was in poor health at the time and didn't accompany Monet to Montgeron. Ernest had to leave to Paris to attend to pressing business matters, so Monet stayed on the property with Hoschedé's wife, Alice.
Alice gave birth to the last of her six children nine months later. The child, Jean-Pierre, released a biography about his life and claimed to be Monet's son.
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Camille gave birth to her and Monet's second son, Michel, in 1878. Unfortunately, her health continued to deteriorate and she passed away from uterine cancer on Septmber 5, 1879 at the age of 32.
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The Hoschedé family was living with the Monet's at the time, as both families were plagued by poverty. Alice tended to Camille until the day she died, but quickly switched up once Monet's first wife passed away. Alice remained married to Ernest, but the two were estranged - leaving Monet in an awkward spot. The relationship between Alice and Monet wouldn't become official until 1892 after Ernest's death.
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Monet and Alice raised a blended family consisting of 8 children: Jeanne-Pierre Hoschedé, Jacques Hoschedé, Blanche Hoschedé, Jean Monet, Michel Monet, Martha Hoschedé, Germaine Hoschedé, and Suzanne Hoschedé.
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