Impressionism, a major pictorial movement born in France and extending from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th, is one of the most popular artistic movements in the history of art. Here we take a look at the characteristics, development and great names of this aesthetic style of painting, which rejected the prevailing academicism.
“Impressionism is both an aesthetic and a movement”. This is how the specialist magazine Beaux Arts describes this movement, driven by a specific artistic atmosphere and a circle of renowned painters. It all began in the early 1860s, when a group of young painters “hungry for independence” banded together to establish a new style of painting, in opposition to academic art deemed too strict.
The characteristics of Impressionist painting
Impressionism is characterised by a juxtaposition of small, rapid, comma-like strokes of paint. The palette of shades is light, to represent the ephemeral nature of light, whose effect on changing colours over the course of a day fascinates artists. These pure tones make it possible to paint light. The shadows are coloured and the contours have little detail, resulting in a sometimes unfinished appearance.
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Featured photo : © Impression Soleil Levant (1872) by Claude Monet
