Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time), ordinary subject matter, unusual visual angles, and inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience. Impressionism originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s.

The Impressionists faced harsh opposition from the conventional art community in France. The name of the style derives from the title of a Claude Monet work, Impression, soleil levant (Impression, Sunrise), which provoked the critic Louis Leroy to coin the term in a satirical 1874 review of the First Impressionist Exhibition published in the Parisian newspaper Le Charivari.[1] The development of Impressionism in the visual arts was soon followed by analogous styles in other media that became known as Impressionist music and Impressionist literature.

Radicals in their time, the early Impressionists violated the rules of academic painting. They constructed their pictures from freely brushed colours that took precedence over lines and contours, following the example of painters such as Eugène Delacroix and J. M. W. Turner. They also painted realistic scenes of modern life, and often painted outdoors. Previously, still lifes and portraits as well as landscapes were usually painted in a studio.[a] The Impressionists found that they could capture the momentary and transient effects of sunlight by painting outdoors or en plein air. They portrayed overall visual effects instead of details, and used short "broken" brush strokes of mixed and pure unmixed colour—not blended smoothly or shaded, as was customary—to achieve an effect of intense colour vibration.

References

1.  en.wikipedia.org

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Claude Monet (1840–1926) was a French painter and one of the founders of Impressionism, best known for his Water Lilies, Haystacks, and Impression, Sunrise. His work transformed modern art by focusing on light, atmosphere, and fleeting perception rather than strict realism

Artistic Style

• Impressionism: Monet sought to capture the immediate impression of a scene, emphasizing light, color, and atmosphere.
• Series paintings: He painted the same subject at different times of day and in varying weather—famous examples include the Rouen Cathedral, Houses of Parliament, and Haystacks series.
• Later years: At his home in Giverny, Monet created vast gardens with a water-lily pond and Japanese bridge, which became the subject of his most iconic works.

Legacy

References

1.  www.claude-monet.com
2.  www.britannica.com
3.  en.wikipedia.org