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.
Find a collection of authentic Impressionist art on 1stDibs.
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Gouache, Handmade Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Capturing one of his favorite subjects, artist Onelio Marrero portrays a museumgoer immersed in a masterpiece. A venerable gentleman stands riveted before a p...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
As night approaches, the colors of the sky reflect on the pond, with the silhouette of trees filtering the fiery sunset. Water lilies pick up different hues a...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Panel
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Panel
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Cardboard
Early 2000s Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Ink, Oil, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Canvas
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Resin, Acrylic
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Linen, Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Onelio Marrero presents an impressionist scene of ducks wading by a river. "I went to a nearby lake to observe ducks in order to paint this scene of Pe...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Canvas, Panel
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Color Pencil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Cardboard
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
A street in Chicago comes alive on a rainy afternoon. The wet pavement reflects the city lights, creating a shimmering effect as cars and pedestrians move thr...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Paper, Oil Crayon, Acrylic
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Linen, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Artist Comments
Inspired by the vibrant wildflowers of spring, artist Lisa Elley captures the dramatic beauty of poppies in full bloom. Painted entirely with a palette knife, t...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Canvas
Artist Comments
Loose brushwork and bold palette knife techniques lend an impressionistic quality to this lush bouquet of roses. The rich texture brings the painting to life,...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Board
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Linen, Oil, Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil