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.
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor, Graphite
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1950s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1950s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1950s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, Watercolor
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1950s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1950s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1950s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1940s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink, Watercolor
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1940s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Ink
1940s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1940s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1940s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1950s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1950s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1950s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1950s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1950s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1940s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1940s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1950s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1940s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1940s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1960s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Artist Comments
Artist Maurice Dionne paints a bridge on a bright day with people enjoying the sound of rushing water. "The pumphouse feeds water from Ottawa's canal system into a fast-moving white water course where the River Runners are located," shares Maurice. "During summer months, you can catch people enjoying white water kayaking...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1950s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Graphite
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pencil
1950s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Charcoal
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1920s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Late 20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Oil Pastel, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Artist Maurice Dionne paints an impressionist cityscape with cool tones. He presents the view in delicate strokes and detailed brushwork, showing depth and di...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Artist Comments
Artist Catherine McCargar presents a bright and lively impressionist rendering of flowers and leaves. They bloom profusely in a garden, celebrating abundance and color. The flowers, dahlias, roses, and pansies, growing so closely together, resemble a bouquet. "I am equally interested in gardening pursuits as I am in creating paintings," shares Catherine.
About the Artist
Impressionist Catherine McCargar expresses her deep admiration of nature through landscape paintings of Northern California. While she is well-versed in a range of media, her preferred medium for painting is watercolor. The fluidity of the paint allows her to capture the muted undertones and the fleeting light found in the natural world. While the backgrounds of her paintings are impressionistic, the foregrounds of her paintings are often highly detailed, showcasing her technical mastery over her medium.
Words that describe this painting: flora, nature, garden, roses, spring, summer, season, flora, flowers, dahlia, pansy, pansies, botanical, watercolor, paper, impressionism, impressionism, flora, watercolor painting, green
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Early 1900s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Graphite
2010s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1980s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
1930s Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
20th Century Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Paper, Pastel
Artist Comments
Fog surges from the hidden valley in artist Siyuan Ma's impressionist piece. A sheer veil of mist envelops the landscape like cooking...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
Artist Comments
Artist Siyuan Ma depicts an impression of one of the ancient city walls in China. These walls serve as important defensive structures - products of Chinese ar...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Drawings and Watercolor Paintings
Pastel