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.
Find a collection of authentic Impressionist art on 1stDibs.
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Ink, Oil, Acrylic
Late 20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
A couple indulges in wine and cigarettes after enjoying a meal of tapas, while a dog eagerly scours the ground for any fallen treats. Painterly impressionisti...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Ink, Oil, Acrylic
Artist Comments
A traveler sits on the edge of a fountain, resting under the shade. Nearby, a lady crossing the street seems also to be seeking refuge from the sun. Shaded sp...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
Inspired by the aerial view of pedestrians from a hotel balcony in Paris, this impressionistic painting depicts a stylishly attired woman strolling with her c...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil
Early 20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Board
Early 20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil
Early 20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil
Early 20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Board, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Board
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Acrylic, Canvas
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Acrylic, Canvas
1930s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Cardboard, Acrylic
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Acrylic, Canvas
1970s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Cardboard
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Acrylic, Canvas
Early 20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Gouache, Board
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil
Early 20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
1950s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Canvas
1970s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Board
Artist Comments
Three young dancers style their hair, racing against time before a show. The vibrant brushwork and colors portray the lively and intense energy of dance prepara...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil
1930s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Board
Early 20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
19th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil
20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Board
1970s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 1900s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Board
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Acrylic, Canvas
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1990s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Canvas
1940s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Canvas
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1890s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1990s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Paper, Oil, Foam Board
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Canvas
1860s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Ink, Oil, Acrylic
1970s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil
1960s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Board
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Wood Panel, Oil
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Acrylic, Canvas
1940s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil
1950s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Oil, Cardboard
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Figurative Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic