Impressionism: a place to start
Learn what changed in Impressionist painting, then look for it in a landscape by Monet.
An independent beginning
In Paris in 1874, a group of artists organized an exhibition outside the official Salon. Monet, Degas, and Pissarro were among them. They did not all paint alike, but their independence helped open a new space for art.
The name Impressionism came from a critic’s response to Monet’s Impression, Sunrise. The word initially mocked a painting that seemed unfinished. Today, it names a movement associated with changing light, visible brushwork, and subjects drawn from contemporary life.
Look for light in the paint
Many Impressionists used separate strokes of color rather than blending every transition smooth. A shadow could contain blue or violet; a patch of grass could hold several greens. Those marks ask your eye to bring the picture together.
Open Cliff Walk at Pourville, painted in 1882. Begin at a distance: sea, sky, and a grassy slope make a clear landscape. Enlarge the foreground. Look at how individual touches of paint describe grass without outlining every blade.
The figures belong to the landscape
Find the two people near the cliff edge. Compare the marks in their clothing with the marks around them. Does the same kind of stroke appear in both? This is a way to look at how a painter connects a figure to its surroundings.
Impressionism is more varied than a single technique. In the archive, compare Monet with Renoir or Caillebotte. Keep one question in mind: what does each artist want you to notice first?
Explore the paintings.
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