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.
Iris, Mixed Media on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
This image of an Iris in my garden is offered as a unique print using watercolor pigment and casein hardened with the bichromate process over cyanotype on watercolor paper. It is 10...
Mixed Media
Garlic, Mixed Media on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
This still life from my Kitchen Series is offered as a unique print using watercolor pigment and gum arabic hardened with the bichromate process over cyanotype on watercolor paper. ...
Mixed Media
Tomatoes, Mixed Media on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
This image from my Kitchen Series is offered as a unique print using watercolor pigment and gum arabic hardened with the bichromate process over cyanotype on watercolor paper. It is...
Mixed Media
Apricots and Cherries, Mixed Media on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
This still life from my Kitchen Series is offered as a unique print using watercolor pigment and gum arabic hardened with the bichromate process over cyanotype on watercolor paper. ...
Mixed Media
Baby Eggplant, Mixed Media on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
This still life from my Kitchen Series is offered as a unique print using watercolor pigment and gum arabic hardened with the bichromate process over cyanotype on watercolor paper. ...
Mixed Media
Feta with Breadsticks and Olives, Mixed Media on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
This still life from my Kitchen Series is offered as a unique print using watercolor pigment and gum arabic hardened with the bichromate process over cyanotype on watercolor paper. ...
Mixed Media
Sweet Potatoes, Mixed Media on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
This still life from my Kitchen Series is offered as a unique print using watercolor pigment and gum arabic hardened with the bichromate process over cyanotype on watercolor paper. ...
Mixed Media
Duval and Herring, Mixed Media on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
This still life from my Kitchen Series is offered as a unique print using watercolor pigment and gum arabic hardened with the bichromate process over cyanotype on watercolor paper. ...
Mixed Media
Parsnips, Mixed Media on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
This still life from my Kitchen Series is offered as a unique print using watercolor pigment and gum arabic hardened with the bichromate process over cyanotype on watercolor paper. ...
Mixed Media
Blood Orange, Mixed Media on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
This still life from my Kitchen Series is offered as a unique print using watercolor pigment and gum arabic hardened with the bichromate process over cyanotype on watercolor paper. ...
Mixed Media
Limes in a Bowl, Mixed Media on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
This still life from my Kitchen Series is offered as a unique print using watercolor pigment and gum arabic hardened with the bichromate process over cyanotype on watercolor paper. ...
Mixed Media
Lychees, Mixed Media on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
This still life from my Kitchen Series is offered as a unique print using watercolor pigment and gum arabic hardened with the bichromate process over cyanotype on watercolor paper. ...
Mixed Media
Purple and Orange Carrots, Mixed Media on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
This still life from my Kitchen Series is offered as a unique print using watercolor pigment and gum arabic hardened with the bichromate process over cyanotype on watercolor paper. ...
Mixed Media
Roquefort with Wine, Mixed Media on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
This still life from my Kitchen Series is offered as a unique print using watercolor pigment and gum arabic hardened with the bichromate process over cyanotype on watercolor paper. ...
Mixed Media
Pear and Grapes, Mixed Media on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
This still life from my Kitchen Series is offered as a unique print using watercolor pigment and gum arabic hardened with the bichromate process over cyanotype on watercolor paper. ...
Mixed Media
Vintage Mixed Media American Cityscape Illustration c.1960s
Located in San Francisco, CA
Vintage Mixed Media Cityscape Illustration c.1960s Late Fall or early Winter scene of an urban environment with figures, buildings, barren trees i...
Charcoal, Pastel, Watercolor
20th Century mixed media painting of a gondolier on grand canal, Venice
Located in Petworth, West Sussex
Jean Fressinet (French, 1889-1972) A gondolier on the Grand Canal Mixed media Signed with studio stamp (lower right under the mount) 7.1/4 x 12.1/2 in. ...
Mixed Media
Miracle on Ice Study
By LeRoy Neiman
Located in Saint Petersburg, FL
LeRoy Neiman "Miracle on Ice Study" Original Mixed Media on Artist Board 11 1/2″ x 14 1/2″
Permanent Marker
Original Bruno SamMartino vs. Baron Mikel Scicluna 1
By LeRoy Neiman
Located in Saint Petersburg, FL
LeRoy Neiman Original Mixed media on paper; including tempera, acrylic, pastel, watercolor, and conti crayon Dated 1966 9 1/2″ x 9 1/4″ viewabl...
Conté, Pastel, Acrylic, Watercolor
Misty Morning On The Loch, Natalie Bird, Original Landscape Mixed Media Work
Located in Deddington, GB
Misty morning on the loch by Natalie Bird [2021] original Mixed media Image size: H:20 cm x W:25 cm Complete Size of Unframed Work: H:28 cm x W:36 cm x D:1cm Sold Unframed Please no...
Paper, Mixed Media
Natalie Bird, View of Loch Craignish, Original Landscape Painting, Art Online
Located in Deddington, GB
View of Loch Craignish (mounted original painting) [2021] Original Mixed media Image size: H:20 cm x W:25 cm Complete Size of Unframed Work: H:28 cm x W:36 cm x D:1cm Sold Unframed P...
Paper, Mixed Media
Brad Park
By LeRoy Neiman
Located in Saint Petersburg, FL
Original Mixed Media on Paper Dimensions 14.25″ x 11.25″ unframed. Approximately 28.25″ x 25.25″ Framed Dated 1971.
Mixed Media
$451Sale Price|20% Off
Light composition in a light mood. Cardboard, oil, 70x50 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Light composition in a light mood. Cardboard, oil, 70x50 cm Still life with flowers in vase
Oil, Cardboard
Original Bruno SamMartino vs. Baron Mikel Scicluna 2
By LeRoy Neiman
Located in Saint Petersburg, FL
LeRoy Neiman Original Mixed media on paper; including tempera, acrylic, pastel, watercolor, and conte' crayon Dated 1966 8 1/2″ x 16 1/4″ viewab...
Conté, Pastel, Mixed Media, Tempera, Watercolor
Tribute to Matisse
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Original painting on ceramic tile then glazed. Signed by the Artist on the lower left. #318 2 piece set.
Ceramic, Paint, Glaze
Susan and the Red Chair, Mixed Media on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Charcoal and oil painting of woman leaning on back of large chair :: Mixed Media :: Impressionist :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by the artis...
Mixed Media
My Mistake Too, Mixed Media on Paper
By Amy Bernays
Located in Yardley, PA
Painted digital print :: Mixed Media :: Impressionist :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by the artist :: Ready to Hang: No :: Signed: Yes :: Sig...
Mixed Media
My Mistake, Mixed Media on Paper
By Amy Bernays
Located in Yardley, PA
Painted digital print :: Mixed Media :: Impressionist :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by the artist :: Ready to Hang: No :: Signed: Yes :: Sig...
Mixed Media
My Mistake 4, Mixed Media on Paper
By Amy Bernays
Located in Yardley, PA
Painted digital print :: Mixed Media :: Impressionist :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by the artist :: Ready to Hang: No :: Signed: Yes :: Sig...
Mixed Media
Cafe Intelligencia 2, Mixed Media on Paper
By Amy Bernays
Located in Yardley, PA
Painted digital print :: Mixed Media :: Impressionist :: This piece comes with an official certificate of authenticity signed by the artist :: Ready to Hang: No :: Signed: Yes :: Sig...
Mixed Media
Bye Bye Blackbirdds, Mixed Media on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Bye Bye Blackbirds was inspired by Whistler's painting of a girl in a white dress. The girl is painted in oils. I added the flowers and blackbirds in paper and acrylic. I'm trying...
Mixed Media
Dallas Arboretum 2, Mixed Media on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
digitally manipulated photography, printed on cotton sateen, hand quilted, taller-wrapped on stretched canvas :: Mixed Media :: Impressionist :: This piece comes with an official cer...
Mixed Media
Lismnore Castle Ireland, Mixed Media on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
digitally manipulated photography, printed on cotton sateen, hand quilted, taller-wrapped on stretched canvas from my Echoes series. :: Mixed Media :: Impressionist :: This piece com...
Mixed Media
Homage to Vincent, Mixed Media on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
digitally manipulated photography, printed on cotton sateen, hand quilted, gallery wrapped oon stretched canvas :: Mixed Media :: Impressionist :: This piece comes with an official c...
Mixed Media
OLALLA, Mixed Media on Wood Panel
Located in Yardley, PA
The Making of OLALLA Inspired by hometown where my studio is in the Pacific Northwest, OLALLA is a sweepingly large landscape at 24 x 60. Its soft muted tones speak to the scenic ...
Mixed Media
Appreciate what you have, Mixed Media on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Title - Appreciate what you have “Appreciate what you have before time makes you appreciate what you had.†Size: 48 x 48 inches This is a one of a kind authentic painting...
Mixed Media
American Western TEXAS FAMILY REUNION watercolor mixed media
Located in New York, NY
Born Plattsmouth, NB, Feb. 28, 1910; died Philadelphia, May 1982. Illustrator. Painter, specialized in scenes from his childhood in Kansas and Nebraska, portraits, American history. ...
Mixed Media, Watercolor
"USA Battleships, Hudson River NY"
By Hayley Lever
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Signed LR Born in Adelaide, Australia, Hayley Lever was known for his town-shore landscapes and still-life painting in a style that combined impressionism with vivid colors and stro...
Mixed Media, Oil Pastel
Sunbather
By LeRoy Neiman
Located in Saint Petersburg, FL
Original mixed-media on paper Dimensions 6″ x 7″ unframed 20.5″ x 21.5″ framed. This is a study for a work entitled “Les Baigneuses” dated 1971 and is included in LeRoy Neiman’s cat...
Mixed Media
Price Upon Request
Lesser Ury - Auf dem kanal, impressionist, pastel, german, waterscape, canal
By Lesser Ury
Located in London, GB
Lesser Ury (1861-1931) Auf dem Kanal 1912 pastel on board 49.2 x 34.9 cm signed and dated 'L.Ury.1912.' (lower left) Price: $25,000 USD Provenance: Sale: Christie's London, 30 June 2000, lot 42 Collection of Simone and Jean Tiroche (acquired at the above sale) Thence by descent Sale: Christie's London, 19 June 2013, lot 199 Private collection, UK (acquired from the above sale) Notes: Dr Sibylle Gross has confirmed the authenticity of this work. Lesser Ury, a German-Jewish Impressionist...
Pastel, Board