Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
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.
Late 19th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Graphite
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pencil
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Archival Paper
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Acrylic, Watercolor
Early 20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Late 19th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1890s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pastel
1940s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Graphite
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pastel
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pencil
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1950s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Graphite
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Artist Comments
A busy city street comes to life at dusk. The limited color palette and the angle capture the fading light, casting a soft glow over buildings and cars. The p...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Early 20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Oil Pastel
1980s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
1930s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Oil
Late 19th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Postcard, Illustration Board
Early 20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1920s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Oil Pastel
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Artist Comments
A macaw captivates with its piercing eyes and vibrant feathers. Inspired by her travel to Belize, artist Joanie Ford captures the vibrant essence of wildlife th...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pastel
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Pastel
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor