Françoise Cauvin-Monet

CHILDHOOD,
the Normandy coast as a family home...

Léon Monet's granddaughter, Françoise Cauvin-Monet, was born on September 9, 1926, into one of those families, that might be called "19th-century bourgeois", yet whose fortune was not so much the result of a name, rank or heritage. Rather, it was from the industrial revolution that opened up prospects for those who knew how to seize the opportunities created by the technological and scientifi c upheavals of the time. When the two young Monet brothers arrived at their aunt’s house in Normandy - while Claude was bored at school and dreaming of the life of an artist - Léon, the elder brother, was a grocery shop clerk before taking an interest in chemistry and then joining a Swiss chemical company as a sales representative, which was developing in the dye, pigment and textile markets.

« Color » then entered the Monet family !

Françoise Cauvin-Monet

Léon Monet, Françoise’s grandfather, was one of the fi rst entrepreneurs to ride the wave of industrialization and who had the intelligence, the talent and the idea to develop these fl ourishing industries, quickly putting their families out of business while obtaining the recognition of their peers. A family from the land, but from a very fashionable one, the antechamber of a Paris that was not at the time as prized as it is today. Léon and Claude Monet were therefore born in Paris, but quickly and permanently settled in the Normandy region, from Le Havre to Rouen, and more particularly in Maromme for Léon Monet and his family, who made his large house the cradle of several generations.

Louise Monet, Françoise’s mother, is Claude Monet’s niece: art and painting are therefore at the very heart of the family, intrinsically linked. On the one hand, Léon was a collector, supporter and friend of artists in the region, and on the other hand, Claude Monet, who would become the master that everybody knows and who would tip French art into a new era: that of modern art, which would mark the break in every respect with the academic art known until then.

Françoise Cauvin-Monet
Léon & Claude Monet

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Pascale Cauvin Childhood in Normandy
a reproduction by Françoise Cauvin-Monet
of her great-uncle's "Camille and the Child".

« In front of you, a tree, a house, a field, or whatever. Just think of this: here is a little square of blue, a pink oval, a green oval, a yellow streak, and paint exactly as they appear to you. »
Claude Monet

« When I say that Claude Monet was born in Paris, on Rue Laffite, that is to say, in the district of art dealers – a possible sign of predestination – I haven't advanced our affairs much.
But if I add that he spent his entire youth in Le Havre, and there, fell in love with the play of light that the tumultuous ocean of the coasts receives from infinite space, perhaps one will understand this familiarity of the eye with the luminous gymnastics of a frenzied atmosphere that throws all the nuances of all tones to the extravagance of waves and winds. »
Georges Clémenceau

News from Françoise Cauvin...

« Most often, it is within the heart of the family that the first supports are found. What would Vincent van Gogh be without his brother Theo or Gustave Caillebotte without Martial ? »
Géraldine Lefebvre.
Curator of the “Léon Monet” exhibition in Paris.