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
Artist Comments
A woman sits outside a Philadelphia bistro, reading her book. The bright morning light shines through the establishment's windows, revealing a glimpse of its i...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Artist Onelio Marrero lives just minutes from the New Jersey shore, where he and his wife enjoy long walks along the beach. In the quieter winter months, the ...
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
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Cotton Canvas
Early 2000s Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Mixed Media
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Wood, Oil
2010s 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
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Linen, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
Bare trees stand proudly under a bright autumn sun, their branches reaching skyward. The mountains in the background, retaining a scattering of greens, provide ...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
Remnants of a plantation rest deep in the historic Iao Valley, where a cottage, a banana tree, and a garden grow as native Hawaiians once planted them. Mist flo...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Paper
Artist Comments
Three children show quiet determination as they dig for sand dollars during low tide. Their curiosity and focus bring wonder to the coastal scene. Energetic str...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
Artist Comments
Soft morning mist drifts across a local park in Jersey City. A towering tree anchors the scene as others fade into dreamy silhouettes in the distance. Artist Br...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Board
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Wood, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Panel
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Panel
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
Artist Comments
Artist Sherri Aldawood captures a peaceful moment from her trip to Marbella, Spain. Sunlight fills a narrow alleyway, adorned with vibrant flowers and lush pl...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Ink, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Gouache
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Cotton Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
Early 2000s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Oil Pastel, Oil, Acrylic
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Canvas
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Wood Panel
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil, Cardboard
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Paintings
Acrylic
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Paintings
Oil