Impressionism

(Late 19th century)

 Impressionism is an art movement that was started by a group of French painters seeking 

 recognition for their innovative techniques and approach to using colour in art.

  Lines were replaced by rounded shapes or tiny dots. Dark shadows became colorful and bright. Artists used a more scientific analysis of colour to capture the effects of light in nature.  These artists often painted outside to observe the effects of light on colour in nature. This is where the term plein air painting got started. Plein air means "outside" in French. Artists began to discard old painting supplies and picked up box easels and panting tubes, allowing them to easily travel outdoors with their supplies. The Impressionists had to paint quickly to capture the atmosphere of a particular time of day or the effects of different weather conditions on the landscape. The speed of the Impressionists' painting technique forced them to sacrifice accurate line and detail in favour of atmospheric effect. The subject most suited to the Impressionist technique was landscape, but they also painted portraits, still lifes and figure compositions.
Impressionism is now seen as the first movement in modern art, and had a huge influence on the development of art in the 20th century.

Claude Monet

, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, Edgar Degas, Alfred Sisley and Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec were the main figures who formed the backbone of the movement.

Claude Monet

Weeping Willow

Woman with a Parasol

Claude Monet was a famous French painter whose work gave name to the art movement Impressionism which was concerned with capturing light and natural forms.

Monet rejected the traditional approach to landscape painting and instead of copying old masters he had been learning from his friends and the nature itself. Monet observed variations of color and light caused by the daily or seasonal changes

"My only merit lies in having painted directly in front of nature, seeking to render my impressions of the most fleeting effects."

– Claude Monet

Refernces

http://www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/art_movements/impressionism.htm

http://www.osnatfineart.com/impressionism.jsp

http://www.biography.com/people/claude-monet-9411771?page=1