La Peinture Impressionniste

A sketch-like harbor scene was what gave Impressionism its name. When Claude Monet's Impression, soleil levant (Impression, Sunrise) was exhibited in April 1874, critics seized upon the title of the work to name an unprecedented new style in painting that dissolved forms in a play of light and color, thereby challenging the visual habits of the time and shocking both the public and critics.

As with many groundbreaking art movements, critics were soon proven wrong. Today, Impressionism is a strong contender for the title of the most popular painting period. Exhibitions with long lines of visitors, record prices at auctions, and widespread reproduction in art prints and calendars demonstrate how popular the works, once dismissed as amateurish and sketchy splashes of color, have become.

Despite its popularity and the abundance of publications, many areas and artists of Impressionism remain underexplored. This book fills that gap by considering many unjustly neglected artists such as Berthe Morisot, Lucien Pissarro, and Gustave Caillebotte, and also takes a look at Impressionist painting outside of France.