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.
1950s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1930s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Artist Comments
Artist Siyuan Ma shares a glimpse of the Huayan Temple in Datong, Shanxi Province. It holds significant scientific value for ancient Chinese architectural art...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1980s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
Early 20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Late 20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Permanent Marker
Early 1900s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Laid Paper
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Artist Siyuan Ma exhibits a panoramic view of mountains engulfed by a mysterious fog. He presents aesthetic imagery that can take the viewer into a dreamlike ...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1990s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Laid Paper
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Archival Paper
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1920s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Charcoal, Paper
Late 19th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Graphite
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pastel
1970s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Gouache
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1930s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1980s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Conté
1950s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1950s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Artist Comments
Amidst the intricate architectural details and timeless appeal of a brick building, the presence of people engaged in their daily routines brings vibrancy to ...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Early 2000s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Archival Paper
1970s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Late 19th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Graphite
1940s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Gouache
1950s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Ink
Artist Comments
Artist Maurice Dionne paints a trio exploring the Mer Bleu Bog in an unexpected nature escape in Ottawa. "Located in the east end of the city, this unique bog...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Late 19th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Graphite
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pastel
Early 2000s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Charcoal
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
Early 20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
India Ink
1950s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Early 20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Early 20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1950s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Crayon
Artist Comments
Artist Catherine McCargar illustrates alluring red flowers in a background of white. She captures the delicacy and transparency of gorgeous poppies she noticed in a local public garden. She creates a somewhat stylized arrangement of blooming stems. "It is punctuated by the addition of the buds as they dangle before bursting forth the seed capsules that remain after the petals drop," says Catherine.
About the Artist
Impressionist Catherine McCargar expresses her deep admiration of nature through landscape paintings of Northern California...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1980s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Laid Paper, Photographic Paper
1950s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Graphite
Late 20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1950s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Graphite
Early 20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Gouache, Paper
Late 19th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Gouache
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1920s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Chalk
1970s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
Artist Comments
Artist Siyuan Ma presents a tantalizing view of snowcapped mountains in soothing tones of turquoise. He presents aesthetic imagery th...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Artist Comments
A wintry scene unfolds with bare trees and geese in flight along a riverbank. Tangled weeds create intricate patterns that harmonize with the freeform structu...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Late 20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Late 19th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Graphite
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Color Pencil
1970s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Watercolor