Impressionist Animal 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.
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21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Animal Paintings
Panel, Oil
1910s Impressionist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil, Panel
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
Two horses graze peacefully in a sunlit pasture surrounded by trees and open fields. The morning light creates a glowing outline around their bodies. The scene ...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil
Late 20th Century Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
A solitary horse strolls through a sunlit field, its mane and tail glowing in the warm morning light. Ethereal, golden tones ripple across its form, capturing a...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil
1980s Impressionist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Illustration Board
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil, Panel
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
New Jersey artist Brian McCarthy grew up in a rural area near the New York border, where grazing animals were a common sight. In this oil painting, he capture...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Early 20th Century Impressionist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil
1930s Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil
20th Century Impressionist Animal Paintings
Gouache
20th Century Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil, Board, Canvas
2010s Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil
Early 20th Century Impressionist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Two monarch butterflies flutter gracefully against a soft, green background. A subtle glow around them brings the idea of movement. Delicate patterns and detail...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil
20th Century Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil
19th Century Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Animal Paintings
Acrylic
Artist Comments
A vibrant hummingbird perches on a branch, its jewel-toned feathers catching the light. The soft, textured strokes create an energetic display of colors. The ...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil
20th Century Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Animal Paintings
Ink, Oil, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Soft clouds blend with a bright blue sky, where five birds soar in a serene atmosphere. The scene takes inspiration from artist Karen Barton's observation of ...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Animal Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Impressionist Animal Paintings
Casein, Panel
1960s Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Animal Paintings
Acrylic
Early 20th Century Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
Artist Comments
A vibrant hummingbird hovers mid-flight, its fiery feathers shimmering in the light. Expressive red and green strokes adorn the background. The composition ex...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil
Early 20th Century Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Animal Paintings
Ink, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Impressionist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1970s Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil
1960s Impressionist Animal Paintings
Acrylic
Early 20th Century Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil
Early 20th Century Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
1950s Impressionist Animal Paintings
Egg Tempera, Illustration Board
2010s Impressionist Animal Paintings
Metal
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Animal Paintings
Paper, Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Animal Paintings
Gouache
2010s Impressionist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Animal Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 20th Century Impressionist Animal Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Animal Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Oil