Impressionism was a 19th century art movement that began in France. It was characterized by visible brushstrokes, attention to the effects of light and color, and the depiction of modern life. The movement took its name from Claude Monet's painting Impression, Sunrise. Some of the most famous Impressionist artists included Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Alfred Sisley, and Camille Pissarro. Their works, such as Monet's series of Rouen Cathedral paintings and Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party, focused on capturing fleeting moments and the changing effects of light.

1. IMPRESSIONISM
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2. INDEX
1. Chronology and origin of “Impressionism”.
2. Main features.
3. Main artists and works:
1. Precursor: Édouard Manet.
2. Claude Monet.
 Series of Rouen Cathedral.
3. Pierre- Auguste Renoir.
4. Edgar Degas.
5. Alfred Sisley and Camille Pissarro.
6. Joaquín Sorolla.
l Explanation of works:
1. The Luncheon on the grass.
2. Impression, Sunrise.
3. Luncheon at the Boating Party.
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l Sources.

3. CHRONOLOGY AND
ORIGIN OF “IMPRESSIONISM”
Impressionism is the plastic movement
developed in the 2nd half of the 19th
century, mainly in France.
The word “Impressionism”
comes from “impression”, the
name of Monet’s
painting, Impression, Sunrise.
The critic Louis Leroy used for
the first time this word in
1874. He used it in a pejorative
way to refer to the paintings of
group of artists in Paris,
whose independent exhibitions
opposed to conventional art in
France.
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4. MAIN FEATURES
 Landscape: the Impressionists usually
represented the contact with nature and
light. These paintings also represent
natural elements such as water, sky or
ice.
 Fast technique with large brushstrokes.
 Colours: they didn’t use the black colour.
As for the white colour, they also thought
it doesn’t exist. They used pure colours
and they could mix them on canvas.
Monet’s garden, Claude Monet
• Light is the most important thing.
• No use of vanishing point they made
flat and two-dimensional compositions.
• Main themes: portraits, landscapes,
urban life scenes, an optimistic vision
of the world, society and they usually
painted the life in Paris.
• They usually painted in the open air.
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Poppies, Claude Monet

5. MAIN ARTISTS
Pierre- Auguste Renoir
AND WORKS
Édouard Manet
Claude Monet
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Joaquín Sorolla Alfred Sisley Edgar Degas Camille Pissarro

6. Édouard Manet was the precursor of Impressionism
The Luncheon on the grass A bar at the Folies Bergére
The balcony
Music in the Tuilleries Olympia 6
The fifer

7. Claude Monet was interested on how light could
change a landscape
The word “Impressionism”
comes from
Nympheas Houses of Parliament
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Rouen Cathedral Poplars Impression, Sunrise

8. Rising Sun Dawn
CATHEDRAL
Foggy Light Full Sunlight
SERIES OF ROUEN
Late Afternoon Afternoon Sun
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Night Light Morning Light

9. Pierre- Auguste Renoir
Luncheon at the Boating Party
The Swing Girls at the piano
Dance at the Moulin de la Galette
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The Large Bathers

10. Edgar Degas used to focus on human
figure and movement. He
painted scenes of dancers
and horse races.
The Tub
Dancer with a Bouquet of Flowers
The dance class
Ballet rehearsal
L’ Absinthe 10

11. Alfred Sisley and
Camille Pissarro
painted scenes in the open air.
Flood at Port- Marly Boulevard Montmartre
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12. Joaquín Sorolla was the most important
painter in Spain.
Beach at
Castile
Valencia
Wife and Daughters
in the Garden
Sad
Inheritance
Walk on
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the Beach

13. EXPLANATION
OF WORKS
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14. The Luncheon on the grass
 Artist: Édouard Manet.
 Chronology: 1863.
 Material used: Oil on canvas.
 Present location: Orsay Museum, Paris.
 Description: It represents a naked woman
with two men. The woman is completely
illuminated and is looking to the viewer. In
front of them, we can see the woman’s
clothes, a fruit’s basket and bread. In the
background a woman with a white dress
appears and she is bathing in a stream.
 Explanation: Declaration in favour of the
artist’s individual freedom. Manet portrayed
his wife (Suzanne), and his favourite model
(Meurent). Both women posed for the naked
woman: the face belongs to Meurent and the
body to Suzanne. The two men are Manet’s
brother (Gustave) and his brother in law
(Ferdinand).
 Influence: Manet influenced Claude Monet,
who also painted his own Luncheon on the
grass.
 Interesting information: The painting’s style
wasn’t common in that period. For that reason
there were several critiques. He didn’t try to
eliminate the brushstrokes. In fact, the
painting seems unfinished in some parts of
the scene. It can be interpreted as a modern
version of Pastoral concert from the 14
Renaissance painter, Titian.

15. Impression, Sunrise
 Artist: Claude Monet.
 Chronology: 1872.
 Material used: Oil on canvas.
 Present location: Monet´s Marmottan
(Monet’s )Museum, Paris.
 Description: The landscape is
represented as a snapshot impression.
Monet painted an impression from his
window in Le Havre, the sun in the fog
and some boats on the background.
 Explanation: To focus the impression
that the rising sun produces and to
provoke an impression on the person
who is watching it. The sun has the same
illumination as the sky, so it suggests
damp. He used complementary colours
and several colour tones. The
brushstrokes are free, fast and direct.
 Importance: It’s very important, because
it gave name to the Impressionist
movement.
 Considered from Impressionism: Try
to capture the light.
 Interesting information: It was stolen by
Philippe Jamin and Khimoun Youssef
and it was recovered again in 1990.
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16. Luncheon at the Boating Party
 Artist: Pierre- Auguste Renoir.
 Chronology: 1881.
 Material used: Oil on canvas.
 Bought by: Paul Durand- Ruel and
later from his son by Duncan Phillips.
 Present location: Phillips Collection,
Washington DC.
 Description: A group of friends
relaxing in the Maison Fournaise’s
balcony on the Seine River in Chatou,
France. On the right, we can see
Renoir and the patron, Gustave
Caillebote, sitting down. On the left,
Aline Charigot, Renoir’s wife, is playing
with a dog.
 Explanation: Renoir captured a big
quantity of light. Most of the light
comes from the back of the painting;
the men’s t-shirts from the background
and the tablecloth reflect most of the
light.
 Interesting information: This is an
ordinary life scene, one of the
Impressionist painters’ favourite
themes.
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17. SOURCES:
WEBSITES:
 Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 26 March 2012,
<http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_D%C3%A9jeuner_sur_l%27Herbe>
 Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 1 March 2012, <
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impresi%C3%B3n,_sol_naciente>
 Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 21 February 2012,
<http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almuerzo_de_remeros>
 Emagister, 13 December, <
http://grupos.emagister.com/debate/claude_monet_1840_1926/1040-7608
>
BOOKS:
 Cristina Blanco Carrasco and Paqui Pérez Fons. 2011.SOCIAL
SCIENCES HISTORY 4º ESO. Campo de Criptana.
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