Impressionism



The Monet Family in Their Garden at Argenteuil, 1874
Édouard Manet (French, 1832–1883)

Impressionism began in the late 1860’s in France. In 1874 an exhibition was organized by a group of artists called the Anonymous Society of Painters, Sculptures and Printmakers in Paris that launched the movement called Impressionism. The members of this group were Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Sisley and Edgar Degas. This group was known for its independence from the official annual Salon, for which a jury of artists from the Académie des Beaux- Arts selected art works and awarded medals. While a lot of critics were criticised for their work for its unfinished, sketchlike appearance, a lot of talented writers loved it because it is was a representation of modern life. For example a writer Edmond Duranty in his essay in 1876 “La Nouvelle Peinture “ (The New Painting), wrote about their representation of contemporary subject matter in an innovative style as a revolution in painting. A title was not chosen to imply a unified movement: some of the painters invented a name by which they would eventually be known – “The Impressionists”. Today their work is known for its modernity, (with established styles), its incorporation of new technology and ideas, and its presentation of modern life.

Young Woman Seated on a Sofa, ca. 1879
Berthe Morisot (French, 1841–1895)

Reference:
Impressionism: Art and Modernity | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2013. Impressionism: Art and Modernity | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/imml/hd_imml.htm.