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.
Artist Comments
A peaceful sunset descends over Vancouver Island in Canada. Energetic brushstrokes and muted colors convey drifting clouds and distant mountains. Vibrant yet mo...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Acrylic
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
Early 20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil
1910s Impressionist Paintings
Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1950s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Masonite
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil
20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil
Early 20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil
1990s Impressionist Paintings
Masonite, Oil
19th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Oil, Cardboard
20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil Pastel
Artist Comments
Wispy remnants of fog shimmer over Moonstone Beach, casting a silvery glow along the trail. Lavender patches and vibrant foliage intersperse with green grass,...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Linen, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
A tapas restaurant comes into view, a place for locals and tourists alike to relish the pleasures of food and drinks. The warm...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Panel
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Cardboard
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil
1940s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Watercolor
Early 1900s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
Early 20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Foam, Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Onelio Marrero presents an impressionist piece exploring ponds, koi, and goldfish—part of his ongoing series focusing on freshwater fauna. "Koi and Goldfish are considered lucky because, despite their bright colors attracting predators, they have useful survival instincts," shares Onelio. These fish take advantage of reflections of the sky and trees on the water's surface to hide from predators. Onelio capitalizes on the effects of the clear sky and silhouetted trees reflected on the pond to partially mask the exotic fish.
About the Artist
Artist Onelio Marrero paints impressionist city scenes of everyday life. He captures the romanticism of New York City, from the picturesque fountains in Central Park to a glistening city street on a rainy afternoon. He creates a sense of nostalgia and intimacy with his work, offering the feeling that you have visited this particular scene before. “Each play of light, each texture, and each movement of a figure can have a captivating effect on me,†says Onelio. He studied at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art where he mastered discerning color and values, giving his work a more spontaneous appearance. Onelio’s work is an appreciation for beauty in all of its greatest forms; nature, art, and people.
Words that describe this painting: koi, goldfish, water, pond, lake, swim, reflection, liquid, rocks, pebbles, animal, oilpaint, impressionism, impressionism, animals, oil painting, green
Hidden Gems...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil
1970s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil
1910s Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Late 19th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil
Early 20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
Early 20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Canvas
1920s Impressionist Paintings
Oil
1930s Impressionist Paintings
Linen, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil