The result of the student strike is that it opened up submission to everyone at school! WHAT IS IT Impressionism was a new movement in art developed by a group of French artists in the mid- to late-19th century. Painters such as Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Mary Cassatt strove to represent their constructed rendering of visual resonance with a scene, emphasizing the rapid impact of light emanating from objects in a landscape observed en plein air or even within urban settings and intimate environments. This development mirrored society at large, where the distribution of photography led to an increasing pressure for artists to reproduce reality as accurately as possible and brought about a popular leisure culture among bourgeois people with nature experiences that were often depicted. Focusing on free brushwork and bright colors, the Impressionists undermined the authoritarian hierarchies of the official Salon and prepared the ground for modern art’s exploration of subjective vision.
Central to Impressionism was a scientific understanding of color theory, the product of advances in optics that showed how light is separated into its spectral shades. Monet’s series of paintings, including his haystacks, water lilies and Rouen Cathedral facades, addressed notions that the same subject could look utterly different under changing weather conditions or at alternate times of day — proof that color is relative and contextual rather than absolute. Applying pure pigments directly to a canvas side by side, he encouraged viewers’ eyes to optically mix them when they look from afar, creating luminous effects (similar to how the shimmer of sunlight on water or the morning mist can appear) that could not be achieved through color blending. It also had the power not only to seize passing moments, but also to provoke emotional responses; to invite spectators to indulge in the momentary sensual joy of experience instead of subjecting it to analysis.
Women were central to the movement, as artists and subjects: Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt introduced intimate domestic scenes into the Impressionist palette. Morisot’s fluid, fragile brushwork imbued the private realm of women and children with warmth and psychological complexity, while Cassatt used bold design to convey mothers washing or embracing their children as powerful testaments to daily human connection. Their participation in the group’s exhibitions highlighted a forward-looking side of Impressionism, but they still encountered roadblocks within a male-dominated art world. The Impressionist Edgar Degas, on the other hand, was more in step with his fellow artists in the movement but opted for interior scenes and artificial light, which he approached with pastels and unusual angles to capture the vitality of ballet dancers or café life, offering a realism mingled with innovative cropping as in photographic framing.
The Impressionists’ exhibitions in 1874 and subsequent independent shows were met with derision by critics who dubbed the paintings unfinished sketches, yet over time these shows garnered public and critical support while attracting collectors as well as a new generation of artists. Rural scenes by Camille Pissarro and the tranquil river views of Alfred Sisley stretched the movement beyond Paris, adding social observations on peasant life and reflections on the calm beauty of the countryside. As a result of this loose, visible brushwork and focus on the present, Post-Impressionists such as Vincent van Gogh and Paul Cézanne would elaborate upon these precursors to move towards greater emotional intensity and structural innovation.
Impressionism is now one of the most popular movements in art history and the joyous celebration of light and colour continues to attract audiences across the globe. They remain a poignant reminder of the beauty to be found in the simple things, and a timely call to enjoy being present at every moment. By overturning convention, the Impressionists not only transformed how painting was done but also opened art to democratic possibilities, itself a deep and available mode of seeing.