Impressionism was an important art movement that began in France in the late 19th century. Impressionist artists wanted to capture the feeling of a moment rather than paint highly detailed or perfectly finished images. Instead of working mostly in studios like earlier artists, they often painted outdoors to observe how natural light and atmosphere affected colors and forms. Their paintings focused on everyday life, landscapes, city scenes, and leisure activities. By using loose brushstrokes and bright colors, they aimed to capture the changing effects of light, weather, and movement. Impressionism marked a major shift away from traditional academic painting and opened the door for many modern art movements that followed.

Characteristics of Impressionist Painting

• Loose and visible brushstrokes

• Bright, vibrant colors rather than dark tones

• Emphasis on the effects of natural light

• Painting outdoors (en plein air) to observe nature directly

• Focus on everyday scenes and modern life

• Interest in capturing a brief moment or “impression”

• Less attention to fine details and precise outlines

• Use of broken color (small strokes of pure color placed next to each other)

• Shadows often painted with color rather than black or gray

• Sense of movement and atmosphere in the scene

Impressionism (c. 1860s – 1880s)

Impressionism marked a revolutionary shift in art, emphasizing the transient effects of light and color over precise detail. Artists painted en plein air (outdoors) to capture fleeting moments, often depicting everyday scenes and landscapes.

Notable Artists and Works:

• Claude Monet: Impression, Sunrise, Water Lilies series, Woman with a Parasol, Rouen Cathedral series, Haystacks series

• Pierre-Auguste Renoir: Luncheon of the Boating Party, Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette, The Swing, The Umbrellas, The Bathers

• Edgar Degas: The Ballet Class, The Absinthe Drinker, L'Absinthe, The Little Dancer of Fourteen Years, The Rehearsal

• Camille Pissarro: Boulevard Montmartre on a Winter Morning, The Harvest, The Red Roofs, The Garden of the Tuileries, Young Peasant Woman with Straw Hat

• Berthe Morisot: The Cradle, Summer's Day, The Harbor at Lorient, Woman at Her Toilette, The Butterfly Hunt
  
  

Post-Impressionism (c. 1886 – 1905)

Post-Impressionism extended Impressionism while rejecting its limitations, focusing more on symbolic content, formal order, and structure. Artists sought to express emotional and symbolic meanings through vivid colors and distinct brushstrokes. Rise Art

Notable Artists and Works:

• Vincent van Gogh: Starry Night, Sunflowers, The Bedroom, Irises, Wheatfield with Crows

• Paul Cézanne: Mont Sainte-Victoire series, The Card Players, Still Life with Apples, Bathers series, The Large Bathers

• Paul Gauguin: Vision After the Sermon, Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?, Tahitian Women on the Beach, The Yellow Christ, Self-Portrait with Halo

• Georges Seurat: A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, Bathers at Asnières, The Circus, The Models, Port-en-Bessin, Evening

• Henri Toulouse-Lautrec: At the Moulin Rouge, La Goulue at the Moulin Rouge, The Clowness Cha-U-Kao, The Dance at the Moulin Rouge, Elles