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.
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20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
Artist Comments
A jewel-toned still life captures the warmth of seasonal celebrations. Ruby-colored candles glow amid fallen blossoms, while rich impressionistic brushstrokes e...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
1890s Impressionist Art
Oil
Late 20th Century Impressionist Art
Lithograph
Late 19th Century Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
1880s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil, Board
20th Century Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil, Board
1940s Impressionist Art
Watercolor, Gouache, Charcoal
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil, Panel, Wood Panel
Early 1900s Impressionist Art
Oil
1980s Impressionist Art
Masonite, Oil
Artist Comments
Loose brushwork and bold palette knife techniques lend an impressionistic quality to this lush bouquet of roses. The rich texture brings the painting to life,...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
1890s Impressionist Art
Watercolor, Laid Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
1880s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil, Masonite
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
Early 20th Century Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Acrylic
1960s Impressionist Art
Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Paper, Archival Pigment
20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Oil, Panel
20th Century Impressionist Art
Gouache
2010s Impressionist Art
Oil
1870s Impressionist Art
Oil
1940s Impressionist Art
Oil, Panel
Early 20th Century Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Early 2000s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
A road cuts through a lush orchard, leading to a vast green field in the distance. Artist Janet Dyer discovered this tranquil place while driving in the Frenc...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Acrylic
20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil Pastel
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Paper, Coffee
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Gouache
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
1980s Impressionist Art
Archival Pigment
1980s Impressionist Art
Lithograph
20th Century Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
1930s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
1950s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil, Cardboard
20th Century Impressionist Art
Gouache
1990s Impressionist Art
Lithograph
1890s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
1950s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Oil, Paper
1930s Impressionist Art
Oil, Board
Artist Comments
Large pink peonies bloom, their bright yellow stamens adding a vibrant contrast. Deep green leaves curl around each blossom, enhancing their lush beauty. Painte...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
1850s Impressionist Art
Rice Paper, Woodcut
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil