Art history: Understanding impressionism – Part 3

Impressionism was a significant art movement which began in 19th century Paris. Characterized most visibly by conspicuous brush stokes, impressionism’s focus was on the overall feeling of a scene with emphasis on light, mood, and color.

It began with the invention of tubed paints in the mid to late 1800’s. With this convenience, artists were beginning to paint outside. Before that, even landscapes had generally been painted indoors. Impressionism made full use of the advantages of outdoor painting, expressing the feeling of the scenes portrayed in the paintings, the changing effects of light, and the vivid coloring of nature.

In the 1860’s, a group of Paris based artists began exhibiting works of this nature, and from them, the movement was born. It was named after a painting entitled ‘Impression, sunrise’, by Claude Monet, one of the most well known and loved impressionist painters. It was Monet who painted the scenes of water-lilies we all remember and love. Sadly, some of his later works remained unfinished as he slowly lost his eyesight as he grew older, but unlike some of the other impressionists, he did achieve financial success during his lifetime.

Deviants in their time, the impressionists faced scorn and heavy criticism, especially at first. Monet and Cezanne fared worse, even being mocked in newspapers. However, as the movement continued and grew, it became more accepted, and was appreciated by the public to some extent.

Some of the most notable Impressionist painters include Claude Monet, Edouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Paul Cezanne, Pierre-August Renoir, and Alfred Sisley. Not all of these artists actually considered themselves impressionists, Degas strongly disliked the term, but in history’s eyes, they are definitely considered to be impressionist painters.