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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Early 2000s Impressionist Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
A cluster of cacti bask in the warm afternoon light near Del Rio, Texas. The radiant sun highlights their prickly exteriors and vibrant colors. Contrasting wi...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Cardboard
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil Pastel, Oil, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Linen, Oil
1910s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 2000s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1910s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Board
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Linen, Fiberboard
1910s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
A narrow trail cuts through a wide, sunlit plain. Trees and bushes cast long shadows on the ground, enhancing the sense of space and warmth. Painted in plein ai...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
1910s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Lacquer, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Paper, Acrylic
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media
Early 2000s Impressionist Paintings
Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil, Giclée
Early 2000s Impressionist Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
The evening sun bathes the historic village of Obidos, Portugal, in warm golden light, casting soft shadows on whitewashed buildings. A winding cobblestone stre...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Canvas
Early 2000s Impressionist Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Acrylic, Archival Paper
1910s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 2000s Impressionist Paintings
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 2000s Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Cardboard
Artist Comments
Refined elegance exudes from a bottle of Macallan Terra, a rich amber whisky poured into a tasting glass, and a finely rolled cigar. Warm tones and soft textu...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Acrylic