Dr. Leclenché
1864
Before he was painting water lilies, a young Claude Monet captured the inventor Dr. Georges Leclenché in this relaxed 1864 portrait. The doctor slouches comfortably in his chair, cigar in hand, sporting a look of casual confidence that was quite modern for the era. Interestingly, Dr. Leclenché invented the Leclanché cell, the ancestor of the modern battery that likely powers the device you're looking at this image on! This piece shows Monet's early skill in capturing personality with loose, energetic brushstrokes before he fully launched the Impressionist revolution.
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