page_title: Camille Doncieux
section_title: Marriage and children
hierarchical_section_title: Camille Doncieux / Marriage and children
context_page_description: Camille Doncieux was the first wife of French painter Claude Monet, with whom she had two sons. She was the subject of a number of paintings by Monet, as well as Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Édouard Manet.
context_section_description: In Paris on 8 August 1867, Camille Doncieux gave birth to Jean, her first son with Claude Monet. Claude, who had spent the summer in Sainte-Adresse visiting his father and aunt Sophie Lecadre, returned to Paris for the birth and stayed for several days afterwards before returning to Sainte-Adresse. He returned to Paris at the end of the year for the holidays and stayed in the cold one-room apartment that Camille shared with Jean. In 1868 Monet went to live with Camille and Jean in Paris, hiding the fact from his father and aunt who thought he had abandoned "his mistress and child". To escape his creditors and live in a less expensive place, in the spring the three moved to Gloton, a small scenic village near Bennecourt. They were thrown out of the inn they were staying in for non-payment. Camille and Jean were able to stay with someone in the country, while Monet tried to obtain monies for survival.
  Camille and Monet were married on 28 June 1870 in the 8th arrondissement of Paris during a civil ceremony. Painter Gustave Courbet was a witness. Although Monet's father was not present because he did not approve of his marriage, Camille's parents attended the ceremony. Upon her marriage, Camille received a 1,200 franc dowry, which represented two years interest on a principal investment that she would receive upon her father's death. Her parents stipulated that the dowry money should be kept in a separate account in Camille's name. This was done to protect the money from Claude Monet's creditors. The couple took their son Jean with them on their honeymoon to Trouville-sur-Mer and stayed at the Hotel Trivoli. Continuing to avoid creditors, Monet also sought to avoid being drafted to serve during the Franco-Prussian War. He left his bride and son to go to Le Havre to visit his ailing father and then on to England, "presumably" with money given to him by his father. Camille and Jean met up with him in England in October 1870.
  They lived at Bath Place, now Kensington High Street, London, by early 1871. It was here that Monet made the only painting of Camille that he made in London. Entitled Repose, she sat in a chaise longue with a book on her lap.
  Ernest and Alice Hoschedé came to live with the Monets after the rich family lost their fortune due to an "extravagant lifestyle". They lived with them first in Vétheuil and then the two families moved to a larger house on the road from Vétheuil to La Roche-Guyon that would support the 12 member Hoschedé and Monet families and a "handful of servants".
  Their second son, Michel was born on 17 March 1878, and Camille's poor health was further degraded.
caption: Camille in Japanese costume, 1876
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