Impressionist Art
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.
Late 19th Century Impressionist Art
Oil, Canvas
Artist Comments
Artist Onelio Marrero finds inspiration in observing fellow artists at work. This vibrant oil painting features a window designer along the sidewalk of midtow...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
"Every fall season, I embark on a sojourn to the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains to soak in the changing fall colors of the birch and quaking aspens," says ar...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Paper, Gouache
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Canvas, Plywood, Oil
1920s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Early 20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Oil, Archival Paper
1880s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
1970s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
1960s Impressionist Art
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
1920s Impressionist Art
Linen, Oil
1950s Impressionist Art
Watercolor
20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Masonite, Oil
1980s Impressionist Art
Lithograph
Artist Comments
A bird of paradise charms with its beauty. Its fiery petals contrast vividly with the lush green leaves. Inspired by her photograph taken during a stroll in S...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Canvas, Acrylic
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Pastel
2010s Impressionist Art
Oil, Wood Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil, Linen
1960s Impressionist Art
Watercolor
1960s Impressionist Art
Watercolor
Artist Comments
Artist Janet Dyer illustrates a lovely spring day in Provence with flourishing pear, cherry, and almond trees. She captures the essence of the season with a v...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Acrylic
2010s Impressionist Art
Linen, Oil, Panel
1940s Impressionist Art
Paper, Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil, Panel
2010s Impressionist Art
Egg Tempera, Panel
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil, Board
1920s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Oil
20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
1970s Impressionist Art
Lithograph
1950s Impressionist Art
Linen, Oil
1990s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil, Cardboard
1950s Impressionist Art
Masonite, Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil, Board
Early 20th Century Impressionist Art
Watercolor
Early 2000s Impressionist Art
Bronze
1880s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Oil, Panel
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil, Board
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
1990s Impressionist Art
Paper, Pastel
1960s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
The bright morning sunshine floods a front porch where an inviting scene unfolds. Artist Sherri Aldawood was drawn to the light and cast shadows on this historic adobe home in Taos, New Mexico. The two turquoise chairs add to the scene's charm and beckon the viewer to relax and enjoy the peaceful ambiance of the moment.
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 Art
Oil
Late 20th Century Impressionist Art
Paper, Pastel
1890s Impressionist Art
Lithograph
1870s Impressionist Art
Engraving