Claude Monet. Oscar-Claude Monet ( UK: / ˈmɒneɪ /, US: / moʊˈneɪ, məˈ -/, French: [klod mɔnɛ]; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. [1] During his long career, he was.