Ernest Hoschedé

Who was Ernest Hoschedé?

Ernest Hoschedé was a department store magnate in Paris. He was best known as a patron of Claude Monet and other Impressionist painters, and the first husband of Monet's second wife, Alice Raingo Hoschedé Monet. In 1876, Hoschedé commissioned Monet to paint decorative panels for his residence, the château de Rottembourg, in Montgeron. Hoschedé went bankrupt in 1877 and his art collection was auctioned off. This was a blow to the Impressionists, especially Monet. Ernest, Alice, and their children moved into a house in Vétheuil with Monet, Monet's first wife Camille, and their two sons. Ernest, however, spent most of his time in Paris and left in 1878 for Belgium. After Camille Monet's death in 1879, Monet and Alice continued living together at Poissy and later at Giverny. Ernest Hoschedé died in 1891, and, in 1892, Alice and Claude Monet were married.