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.
Artist Comments
This painting combines two of artist Onelio Marrero's interests: his love for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and his fascination with observi...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
1920s Impressionist Art
Oil, Wood Panel
Early 20th Century Impressionist Art
Paper, Ink, Lithograph
Early 1900s Impressionist Art
Oil, Canvas
Early 20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil, Canvas
19th Century Impressionist Art
Oil, Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil, Board
20th Century Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
Late 19th Century Impressionist Art
Oil, Canvas
1880s Impressionist Art
Oil, Postcard
Late 19th Century Impressionist Art
Canvas, Pastel
20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
Artist Comments
Drawn to the repeating horizontal lines of the distant trees, rock wall, and water, artist Thomas Hoerber captures the scene with watercolor. Two boats rest peacefully by a dock along the Channel Islands in Ventura County, California. The sunlight provides a contrast between the whites of the vessels and the colors of the sea.
About the Artist
Artist Thomas Hoerber brings his lifelong experience as a make-up artist to his watercolor paintings. "I am drawn to the historical and the weathered because I find beauty in their character," says Thomas. Following his retirement from a 45-year career in the TV and film industry, he finds endless inspiration on the rugged California coast. His focus on painting different kinds of boats is inspired by all the time he spent fishing with his grandfather. Additionally, his motivation to capture coastal scenes stems from day trips to waterside cities and memories of deep-sea fishing, motorcycle riding...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Watercolor
1920s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
1920s Impressionist Art
Paper, Ink
1930s Impressionist Art
Oil, Board
1920s Impressionist Art
Oil
1970s Impressionist Art
Lithograph
1910s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
1930s Impressionist Art
Watercolor, Gouache, Cardboard
2010s Impressionist Art
Oil
1950s Impressionist Art
Offset
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
Early 1900s Impressionist Art
Oil, Canvas
1970s Impressionist Art
Lithograph
Early 20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
Late 19th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Watercolor
Early 1900s Impressionist Art
Cotton Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Oil, Linen
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
1870s Impressionist Art
Oil
1960s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil, Board
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
Late 19th Century Impressionist Art
Paper, Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil, Canvas
2010s Impressionist Art
Oil
20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil, Panel
2010s Impressionist Art
Oil, Panel
Early 20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
Early 20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
1970s Impressionist Art
Etching
20th Century Impressionist Art
Watercolor
Artist Comments
Artist Valerie Berkely presents a dreamy summer seascape. The warm color palette and gentle movements stir sun-soaked memories and carefree beach vacations. W...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
1990s Impressionist Art
Paper, Giclée
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil, Linen
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil, Panel
1990s Impressionist Art
Lithograph
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Color