Impressionist Figurative 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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Late 20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Archival Paper
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1960s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Paper, Pastel
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Canvas
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil
1940s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Onelio Marrero paints a group of children blissfully swimming along the beach. He often visits the seashore during the summer months, and this painting b...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil
Early 20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil
Late 20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Acrylic
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Canvas, Linen
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
1950s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Ink, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Artist Onelio Marrero depicts two carefree children playing in the surf. Part of a series of summer paintings that explores the joyful spirit of youth. His exec...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Canvas
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1890s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Canvas
1990s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1990s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil
1990s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Board, Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Carey Parks depicts a woman walking along the streets of Soho. A yellow taxi passes in the background, compelling the viewer to explore the compositio...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Acrylic
1920s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Cardboard
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Board
Early 20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Board
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 2000s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Paper, Oil
Late 20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Carey Parks depicts three kids standing outside a suburban neighborhood. She uses an old family photo to capture the essence o...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Acrylic, Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Carey Parks illustrates a crowd of pedestrians crossing the street. She captures the image on a bright and sunny but cold Saturday in New York City. "The...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Panel
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1990s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Paper
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Late 19th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil