Impressionist 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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1950s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Illustration Board, Canvas
1930s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1920s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1940s Impressionist Paintings
Watercolor
Artist Comments
Artist Yangzi Xu depicts a breathtaking evening scene at dusk on Wacker Drive, Chicago. "The lights of the city are on, creating a mesmerizing effervescence t...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Cardboard
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 2000s Impressionist Paintings
Linen, Oil
1960s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Panel
Early 2000s Impressionist Paintings
Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Wood
1950s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Canvas
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Oil
20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Board
20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Board
Artist Comments
A red fox curls up on the snow, its fiery coat glowing against the icy background. Bold strokes capture the texture of its thick fur. The painting radiates both...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Board
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Illustration Board
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil
1980s Impressionist Paintings
Oil
1960s Impressionist Paintings
Oil
Late 19th Century Impressionist Paintings
Board, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Panel
1890s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Panel, Oil
Early 19th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Board
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Cardboard
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Watercolor
Artist Comments
Artist Jonelle Summerfield beautifully captures a quintessential view of Sedona's red rocks. The contrasting lush greenery enhances the warm landscape. The ru...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Acrylic
Early 2000s Impressionist Paintings
Watercolor
20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil
1880s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Linen, Oil
1970s Impressionist Paintings
Paper, Oil, Cardboard
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Board
1950s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Resin, Carbon Pencil, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Gesso, Mixed Media, Oil
1880s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Masonite
1950s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Canvas
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Gouache
Artist Comments
Inspired by family photos from the 1960s, the artwork depicts two sisters enjoying a quiet morning. One reads a newspaper while the other prepares her breakfa...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Acrylic
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Canvas, Fiberboard
20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Board
Early 1900s Impressionist Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
Coastal Davenport, California, comes alive with the essence of the Pacific coast in artist Lisa Elley's impressionist seascape. Rugged cliffs meet the gentle ...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Ink, Gouache
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Cardboard
20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Watercolor, Cardboard, Permanent Marker
20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil