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.
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Crayon
1980s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Conté
Early 20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
Late 19th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Graphite
Late 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
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Gouache
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pastel, Archival Paper
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1990s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Magazine Paper, Pencil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Artist Comments
Yellow houses bask in the soft light of spring, their warm tones contrasting with the cool shades of trees and shadows on the ground. A lone figure walks alon...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Early 20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Foil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1980s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Crayon
1990s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1970s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Artist Comments
Tree-studded hills and valleys in California glow under the summer sun. Dramatic shadows in deep blues and purples dot the golden grass, creating a striking c...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Late 20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Archival Paper
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1980s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
19th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Board, Pencil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Artist Comments
Artist Thomas Hoerber paints commercial fishing boats clustered together as they wait to refuel along Morro Bay. The Shell logo reinforces the narrative. Repeating rectangular shapes lend an almost abstract quality, while the soft background fades away. The rusty exterior of the docked vessels gives an industrial feel to the scene.When framing the artwork, Thomas recommends cutting the mat 0.5 inches larger than the paper and mounting it to a backing. This highlights the raw edge and paint detail.
About the Artist
Artist Thomas Hoerber brings his lifelong experience as a make-up artist to his watercolor paintings. "I am drawn to the historical and the weathered because I find beauty in their character," says Thomas. Following his retirement from a 45-year career in the TV and film industry, he finds endless inspiration on the rugged California coast. His focus on painting different kinds of boats is inspired by all the time he spent fishing with his grandfather. Additionally, his motivation to capture coastal scenes stems from day trips to waterside cities and memories of deep-sea fishing, motorcycle riding...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Artist Comments
A barn quietly sits in the picturesque Pennsylvania countryside. The muted color palette evokes the serene tranquility inherent in the Amish homesteads of the...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1970s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Paper
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1950s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
Late 19th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Graphite
Late 19th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Gouache, Laid Paper
Early 20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pastel
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
Late 20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pastel
Late 19th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1990s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink
1950s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Early 20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Late 20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor