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Famous painters with sight problems

Summary: About Monet, Degas and Rembrandt

Claude Monet and Edgar Degas both suffered from very poor eyesight towards the end of their lives. We know this because both wrote about its effect on their painting. Neither artist stopped painting, but their styles changed.

A number of other visual artists, such as Rembrandt, probably had a sight problem too but a lack of clear documentary evidence means we will never know for certain.

Claude Monet, 1840-1926

Monet, born in Paris, is perhaps the most famous of the school of artists known as the Impressionists. Indeed, the name was coined from his painting, 'Impression, le Soleil Levant'.

He is also particularly well-known these days for his series of paintings inspired by the waterlilies in his garden at Giverny. Another famous series of paintings is the 'Cathédrale de Rouen'.

There are many sites on the internet where you can find out more about this wonderful artist and below are just a few. Please note that RNIB cannot guarantee the accessibility of these or other external sites linked from this page.

Edgar Degas, 1834-1917

Degas was a Parisian painter, sculptor and engraver. He is particularly famous for his paintings of dancers in which he captured their attitudes of both movement and repose. It wasn't only dancers he painted, however he also captured the daily life of people performing simple tasks.

There are many sites on the web, the ones below are a random selection.

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, 1606-1669

Rembrandt is considered one of the greatest of all artists. Although born in Leiden, he lived in Amsterdam from a young age and there he developed his skills in using colour and handling the effect of light on faces and scenes.

Below are just a few of the many websites where you can learn more about his work.

Find out about how blind and partially sighted people paint

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Content author: helpline@rnib.org.uk

Last updated: 20/10/2008 15:51

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Which of the following groups has a higher-than-average risk of sight loss?





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