Claude Monet Claude Monet was born in Paris on the 14th November 1840. When he was five years old, he moved to the port town of Le Havre. Most of his childhood, Monet was considered by both his teachers and his parents to be undisciplined and, therefore, unlikely to make a success of his life. Enforcing this impression, Monet showed no interest in inheriting his father's wholesale grocery. The only thing, which seemed to spark any interest in the child, was painting. He developed a decent reputation in school for the caricatures he enjoyed creating. By the age of fifteen, he was receiving money for his work.