Impressionist painting developed in France in the second half of the 19th century. The movement takes its name from Claude Monet’s painting ‘Impression, Sunrise’, shown at the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874. First used mockingly by critics, the term came to describe artists who sought to capture variations of light, changes in the atmosphere and scenes of modern life.
The Impressionists often favoured painting outdoors, visible brushwork and lighter colours than those of the academic tradition. Rather than detailing ... Voir plus >
Impressionist painting developed in France in the second half of the 19th century. The movement takes its name from Claude Monet’s painting ‘Impression, Sunrise’, shown at the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874. First used mockingly by critics, the term came to describe artists who sought to capture variations of light, changes in the atmosphere and scenes of modern life.
The Impressionists often favoured painting outdoors, visible brushwork and lighter colours than those of the academic tradition. Rather than detailing every form, they sought to convey an immediate impression. Landscapes, streets, cafés, railway stations, gardens and places of leisure thus became subjects in their own right.
Claude Monet is one of the central figures of the movement. From his views of the Gare Saint-Lazare to his series devoted to haystacks, Rouen Cathedral and the gardens at Giverny, he observed how the same subject changes with the hour, the season and the light. Auguste Renoir focused more on figures, portraits and social gatherings, while Edgar Degas was drawn to dancers, horse races and the unusual framing of urban life.
Camille Pissarro, Berthe Morisot, Alfred Sisley and Gustave Caillebotte also contributed to the diversity of Impressionism. Some favoured the countryside and atmospheric effects, others the city or domestic scenes. Édouard Manet, close to several members of the group, also helped renew modern painting, even though he never took part in the Impressionist exhibitions.
Colour plays a decisive role in this new way of painting. Shadows can take on blue, violet or green tones, while juxtaposed brushstrokes suggest reflections and changes of light. This research profoundly transformed landscape painting, in which water, sky, trees and paths became subjects of study in their own right.
In the last decades of the 19th century, some artists extended this research while gradually moving away from it. Post-Impressionist paintings give greater weight to structure, personal expression and the intensity of colour. Monet’s late works, notably the Water Lilies, also show how far the study of light and reflections could lead painting towards ever freer forms.
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