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.
2010s Impressionist Art
Oil, Panel
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
Artist Comments
A fountain flows in the center of an elegant garden in artist Sherri Aldawood's impressionist piece. "My dream came true when I visited the home and garden of one of my favorite artists of the past, Joaquin Sorolla, in Madrid," shares Sherri. Channeling her knowledge from studying Sorolla's masterful paintings, Sherri portrays the morning light and colors with soft illumination. The sunlit foliage gleams majestically in the background, sharpening the dimension and bringing the viewer's eye toward the rear of the scene.
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
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
1940s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
1880s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Oil, Wood Panel
1810s Impressionist Art
Monotype
Early 2000s Impressionist Art
Tapestry
Early 20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
1920s Impressionist Art
Drypoint
1950s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Gouache
20th Century Impressionist Art
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Art
Acrylic, Watercolor, Archival Paper
1980s Impressionist Art
Lithograph
2010s Impressionist Art
Acrylic
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Acrylic
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
1940s Impressionist Art
Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Acrylic
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Oil, Linen
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Color
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Impressionist Art
Watercolor
1920s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Acrylic
1970s Impressionist Art
Oil, Board
Late 20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
1920s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Late 19th Century Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil, Board
1960s Impressionist Art
Watercolor
2010s Impressionist Art
Canvas, Acrylic
20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
2010s Impressionist Art
Oil, Board
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
Late 20th Century Impressionist Art
Lithograph
Late 20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
Early 20th Century Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
Artist Comments
Refined elegance exudes from a bottle of Macallan Terra, a rich amber whisky poured into a tasting glass, and a finely rolled cigar. Warm tones and soft textu...
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Late 20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
Mid-20th Century Impressionist Art
Oil, Canvas
Artist Comments
Sunlight bathes the facades and rooftops of Florence in warm, golden hues, creating a striking contrast against the cool purples and blues of the distant hills....
21st Century and Contemporary Impressionist Art
Oil
Early 20th Century Impressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
1920s Impressionist Art
Etching