Background
Ernest Hoschedé was the son of a wealthy merchant of shawls and fine lace.
Ernest Hoschedé was the son of a wealthy merchant of shawls and fine lace.
Also during the successful period of his life, he was an art collector and critic. He lost his Impressionist art collection when he went bankrupt in 1877-1878. He moved his family into the home of Claude Monet in Vétheuil.
He then lived in and worked at the Le Voltaire newspaper and then Magazine Français Illustré.
His family continued to live with the Monets before and after his death. Hoschedé was a department store director, art critic, and art collector.
He collected and sold the works of Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Camille Pissaro and Alfred Sisley. He was best known as a patron of Claude Monet and other Impressionist painters.
He also became good friends with Monet.
In 1876, Hoschedé commissioned Monet to paint decorative panels for the Château de Rottembourg and several landscape paintings. Hoschedé lived an "extravagant lifestyle" and became bankrupt in 1877. Foreign a period of time Hoschedé went to Belgium to escape his creditors.
His art collection was auctioned off in June 1878 for a fraction of its value.
This was a blow to the Impressionists, especially Monet. Although stunned by Hoschedé"s financial failure, Monet was "swift to offer his support", inviting the Hoschedés to live with him and his family.
Needing a bigger home for the 12 member Monet and Hoscede families and the Monet"s servants, they moved into a larger house on the road from Vétheuil to Louisiana Roche-Guyon. Hoschedé spent most of his time in, having found employment at Le Voltaire newspaper.
He kept his family in Vétheuil where it was cheaper to live.
After Camille Monet"s death in 1879, Monet and Alice (along with the children from the two respective families) continued living together at Poissy and later at Giverny. He worked then at the Magazine Français Illustré as an art editors Hoschedé developed a severe case of gout in early 1891 after years of overeating and drinking.
As his illness became more severe, Alice came to to care for him.
Ernest Hoschedé died in 1891 a poor manitoba The following year Alice married Claude Monet.