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.
Early 20th Century Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
1930s Impressionist Art
Paper, Pastel
Artist Comments
A mother and her child strike their camp for higher ground as the tide comes in with the occasional rogue wave. Artist Onelio Marrero and his wife live near the...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Oil Pastel, Ink, Acrylic, Watercolor, Handmade Paper
20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
Early 20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil, Canvas
1930s Impressionist Art
Oil, Board
Early 20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Acrylic
Early 19th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
1970s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
1970s Impressionist Art
Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Board, Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Spray Paint, Acrylic
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Artist Comments
A woman peruses a store in search of antiques while brilliant sunlight rakes the window and objects on display. The contrasts of light and shadows match the coo...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
20th Century Impressionist Art
Watercolor
1930s Impressionist Art
Oil, Board
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Acrylic
20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Oil
20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
20th Century Impressionist Art
Ballpoint Pen
Late 20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil, Canvas
Artist Comments
A peaceful rural scene unfolds in Pennsylvania Amish country. Artist Judy Mudd captures the calm and tradition of the Amish lifestyle, evident from the clothe...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Watercolor
1930s Impressionist Art
Oil, Board
1960s Impressionist Art
Etching, Color, Paper
Early 19th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
Late 20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Canvas, Board
1930s Impressionist Art
Oil
Late 20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil Pastel
20th Century Impressionist Art
Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Oil, Canvas
2010s Impressionist Art
Acrylic, Archival Paper
2010s Impressionist Art
Paper, Acrylic
Early 20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
1980s Impressionist Art
Oil, Board
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Paper, Oil
Early 20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil, Board
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
1890s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
1920s Impressionist Art
Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
1880s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil