Impressionist Art
Emerging in 19th-century France, Impressionist art embraced loose brushwork and plein-air painting to respond to the movement of daily life. Although the pioneers of the Impressionist movement — Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Paul Cézanne, Berthe Morisot, Camille Pissarro, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir — are now household names, their work was a radical break with an art scene led and shaped by academic traditions for around two centuries. These academies had oversight of a curriculum that emphasized formal drawing, painting and sculpting techniques and historical themes.
The French Impressionists were influenced by a group of artists known as the Barbizon School, who painted what they witnessed in nature. The rejection of pieces by these artists and the later Impressionists from the salons culminated in a watershed 1874 exhibition in Paris that was staged outside of the juried systems. After a work of Monet’s was derided by a critic as an unfinished “impression,” the term was taken as a celebration of their shared interest in capturing fleeting moments as subject matter, whether the shifting weather on rural landscapes or the frenzy of an urban crowd. Rather than the exacting realism of the academic tradition, Impressionist paintings, sculptures, prints and drawings represented how an artist saw a world in motion.
Many Impressionist painters were inspired by the perspectives in imported Japanese prints alongside these shifts in European painting — Édouard Manet drew on ukiyo-e woodblock prints and depicted Japanese design in his Portrait of Émile Zola, for example. American artists such as Mary Cassatt and William Merritt Chase, who studied abroad, were impacted by the work of the French artists, and by the late 19th century American Impressionism had its own distinct aesthetics with painters responding to the rapid modernization of cities through quickly created works that were vivid with color and light.
Find a collection of authentic Impressionist art on 1stDibs.
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
1980s Impressionist Art
Oil, Canvas
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Impressionist Art
Oil, Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil, Panel, Wood Panel
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
Late 20th Century Impressionist Art
Paper, Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil, Board
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Archival Paper, Pastel, Oil Crayon, Color Pencil
20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Acrylic, Canvas, Oil, Oil Crayon
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
20th Century Impressionist Art
Acrylic
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Watercolor
Early 20th Century Impressionist Art
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Oil, Canvas
Early 20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil, Panel
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Gouache
Late 20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
1970s Impressionist Art
Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Oil, Canvas
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Gouache
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Gouache
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Early 20th Century Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Art
Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
Artist Comments
Pink and red poppies share a whimsical dance within the green vase. The use of thick paint and delicate gold leaf adds a layer of richness to the still-life pai...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Mixed Media
20th Century Impressionist Art
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Art
Oil, Canvas
1940s Impressionist Art
Lithograph, Stencil, Watercolor
Artist Comments
In the heart of Paris, a secluded garden stirs with the morning sun. Vibrant blue, green, and purple blend with a spontaneous burst of magenta and pink wildflow...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Oil, Canvas
Late 20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
1980s Impressionist Art
Oil, Board
1980s Impressionist Art
Watercolor
20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil, Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil, Canvas, Linen
Artist Comments
Like the dreamy vistas in Monterey Bay, the painting depicts a vibrant scene where the morning light shines over China Cove near Carmel, California. The wind ge...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Giclée, Canvas
2010s Impressionist Art
Linen, Oil
Late 20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Oil, Acrylic, Canvas
2010s Impressionist Art
Oil, Canvas