The long nineteenth century
Impressionism
c. 1865–1890
Painting the fleeting effects of light and atmosphere, outdoors and on the spot.
Overview
A group of Paris-based painters, repeatedly rejected by the official Salon, organized their own exhibition in 1874. A critic mocked Monet’s painting Impression, Sunrise, and the name stuck. They worked outdoors with quick, visible brushstrokes and pure color to record how light changes a scene from moment to moment.
Their subjects were modern life: boulevards, railway stations, cafés, riversides and gardens. Eight group exhibitions were held between 1874 and 1886, and the approach was shaped in part by photography and by Japanese prints.
What defines it
- Short, broken brushstrokes of unmixed color
- Painting outdoors to capture natural light
- Scenes of modern leisure and city life
Works to know
- Impression, Sunrise
- The Cradle
- Bal du moulin de la Galette
- Paris Street; Rainy Day