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
Oil
Early 2000s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Board
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Linen, Oil
Artist Comments
With soothing blues and greens, a tranquil scene unfolds from a marsh on a sunny day. The water reflects the bright sky and passing clouds. Painted with a bru...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Acrylic
Artist Comments
A thick blanket of snow covers a garden, exposing only tall bushes and grass to the sunlight. A thicket of trees stands in the background, adding brown and gr...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
This still-life painting features a lively bouquet of pink flowers in a vase. Painted with a palette knife, the various blooms carry subtle textures, adding d...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
Early 2000s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
Early 2000s Impressionist Paintings
Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Paper, Acrylic, Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Onelio Marrero paints a majestic sunrise on Long Island with vibrant colors and rich brushwork. "I am always up early to witness the morning skies wher...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Shela Goodman pictures an autumnal tree standing prominently from the green forest behind. Fiery orange leaves abundantly ...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Paper, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Linen, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 2000s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Board
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
This painting captures the tranquility of a Los Angeles neighborhood on a cold, quiet evening. Locals retreat to their homes as the sun sets, happily savoring...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
Early 2000s Impressionist Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Board
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Fernando Garcia presents a sweeping landscape of vibrant yellow fields with farmhouses dotting the distance. He uses the rain on the plains as the main...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Acrylic
Early 2000s Impressionist Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Paper, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Panel
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Panel
Artist Comments
Artist Sherri Aldawood presents an impressionist still life of vibrant sunflowers and a few pickings of fruit. The subjects bask in the afternoon light, casting elongated shadows on the surface. "I set up and painted this still life in my backyard using flowers from my garden," shares Sherri. The warm color palette exudes the feeling of comfort that comes with these seasonal blooms.
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
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Board
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Board
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
Early 2000s Impressionist Paintings
Oil