Impressionism was a revolutionary movement in European painting that developed in France during the 1860s and 1870s. Impressionist artists rejected many conventions of the official academic art system and focused on modern life, outdoor light, temporary sensations, and the changing appearance of the world.

Painting Modern Life

Instead of concentrating primarily on historical, religious, or mythological subjects, Impressionists painted streets, cafés, theaters, railways, gardens, rivers, domestic scenes, and leisure activities. Their subjects reflected the changing social life of modern Paris and the growth of the middle class.

Technique

Impressionist paintings are known for visible brushstrokes, broken color, high-key palettes, and compositions influenced by photography and Japanese prints. Artists often worked outdoors, or en plein air, to observe natural light directly. They placed separate touches of color next to each other so that the viewer’s eye would mix them at a distance.

Important Artists

Major Impressionists include Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Camille Pissarro, Berthe Morisot, Alfred Sisley, and Mary Cassatt. Monet studied changing light through repeated views of the same subject, while Degas explored movement, rehearsal spaces, and unconventional viewpoints.

Historical Importance

The movement’s independent exhibitions challenged the authority of official institutions and opened the way for modern art. Impressionism influenced Post-Impressionism, Fauvism, abstraction, photography, and contemporary approaches to perception and everyday experience.