Impressionism

Impressionism

The Impressionist movement started in 1863 in France at the Salon des Refuses which means “exhibition of rejects”. Some of the main artists were Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Pierre-August Renoir and Camille Pissarro amongst others, which they were against traditional art and its rules. They liked to draw from everyday life such as people working, still life and nature. They also used to draw outside rather than in a studio because they wanted to capture movement, time and weather. To give the impression of movement, time or weather, they used to paint short brushstrokes. The name Impressionist was given to the group by the critic Louis Leroy in 1874 based on Monet’s painting Impression, Sunrise, because of the quick, short brush strokes and dots which Monet and several other artists applied on their work. The critic nickname wasn’t a compliment, in fact at these times other artists who were not in the movement used to blend their colors and minimized the appearance of brushstrokes to produce the "licked" surface preferred by the academics.

 

Impressionist art movement information about impressionism paintings - still life landscapes nature Paris. 2013. Impressionist art movement information about impressionism paintings - still life landscapes nature Paris. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.impressionism.info/info.html. [Accessed 09 April 2013].