Impressionism

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The Impressionist Art Movement was derived from Monet’s Impression, Sunrise 1872.

The birth of Impressionism evolved from a very specific time period time and the Impressionist movement can be traced to Paris in the 1860’s where a group of four artists, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Albert Sisley and Frederic Bazille were studying together.

However, the famous artist impressionists list is long and includes Paul Cezanne, Edgar Degas, Camille Pissarro, Joaquin Sorolla and Mary Cassatt just to mention a few.

The impressionist artists rejected the previous traditions of painting classical and religious scenes. Instead they shared a love of painting landscapes and river scenes where the subtle effects of light upon the water and sun on the landscapes at differing times of day could be observed and captured in short brushstrokes which gave an “impression”.

Through the impressionist artists, painting outdoors, and painting en plein air became popular. It became a key ingredient for the impressionist art movement artists.

The first Impressionist Exhibition was held on 15th 1874. Thirty artists exhibited and 165 works were displayed which were viewed by an estimated 4,000 people. The Exhibition was generally welcomed despite some unfavorable reviews. It was on this day art history was made and the future of modern art was cemented.

It was not until the 3rd Exhibition that the group was called themselves “Impressionists”. Whilst later Exhibitions attracted enormous public attention, many of the artists were unable to sell their work and endured poverty throughout the period.

It was not until the great French Art dealer, Paul Durand-Ruel introduced Impressionist oil painting to America with his Exhibitions in major cities that awareness and demand for impressionist art increased and selling prices rose accordingly. As a result, Claude Monet became a famous artist and a wealthy man during his lifetime.

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