A young Claude Monet began creating art with quick caricature drawings. As a teenager in Le Havre, he sketched exaggerated likenesses of teachers, local residents, and other acquaintances, developing a reputation for witty and observant portraits.
Monet’s caricatures were more than casual doodles: he sold some of them locally, earning money and attracting attention for his drawing ability. This early success helped convince him that art could become his profession. He studied drawing at school under Jacques-François Ochard, but his direction changed after he met the landscape painter Eugène Boudin.
Boudin encouraged Monet to move beyond caricature and paint landscapes directly outdoors. That experience introduced Monet to changing light, weather, and atmosphere—concerns that later became central to Impressionism. A common mix-up is to assume Monet began with water lilies or landscape paintings; those subjects made him famous much later. His artistic beginnings were rooted in humorous caricature portraits, while his mature work became associated with scenes of nature and shifting light.