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.
1920s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil
20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1890s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil
Early 1900s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1930s Impressionist Paintings
Oil
1950s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil
19th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil
20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Paper, Pencil
Late 19th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Canvas
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Gouache
1960s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Cardboard
1930s Impressionist Paintings
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache, Pencil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Oil
Early 20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil
1950s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
1960s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil
20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Soft evening colors highlight the beauty of the American desert. A gentle and warm palette creates an airy feeling that suggests an open space. The quiet energy...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
A fountain flows in the center of an elegant garden in artist Sherri Aldawood's impressionist piece. "My dream came true when I visited the home and garden of one of my favorite artists of the past, Joaquin Sorolla, in Madrid," shares Sherri. Channeling her knowledge from studying Sorolla's masterful paintings, Sherri portrays the morning light and colors with soft illumination. The sunlit foliage gleams majestically in the background, sharpening the dimension and bringing the viewer's eye toward the rear of the scene.
About the Artist
Sherri Aldawood didn't intend to always paint flowers, but over time her love of gardens started to permeate her art. She focuses on the light and color of the flowers on the canvas. Sherri prefers alla prima, working with wet layers of paint instead of letting them dry. She keeps the paint as wet as possible by using walnut and clove oil...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
1950s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1960s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars
1890s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Panel
Early 1900s Impressionist Paintings
Oil
1980s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Cardboard
Artist Comments
Artist Warren Keating captures two figures in motion as they navigate the vibrant setting of Art Basel. Broad, expressive brushstrokes convey movement and flu...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Board
Early 2000s Impressionist Paintings
Watercolor
Early 20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Board
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Board
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Metal
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 2000s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Linen, Oil, Panel
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil
20th Century Impressionist Paintings
Oil
1940s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Canvas, Illustration Board
1910s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1960s Impressionist Paintings
Oil