Impressionism began in Paris in the 1860s as artists attempted to capture moments in time through short, thick brush strokes of unmixed paint applied wet-on-wet to depict natural light and shadows. While initially unpopular for its lack of detail, Impressionism gained acceptance by the 1880s and featured artists such as Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, and Sisley painting outdoors. Pointillism developed from Impressionism using dots of pure color instead of brush strokes to create shimmering effects.

1. Impressionist Art

2. • Impressionism began in Paris in the
1860s. The artists attempted to capture a
moment in time – some say it was a
reaction to the invention of photography.
• At first it was an unpopular movement –
traditional artists said the Impressionist
painters could not paint, since they painted
without lines or details.
• Gradually however, by the end of the
1880s Impressionism was accepted –
nowadays we see Impressionist paintings
everywhere.

3. • Short, thick strokes of
How did they paint are used to quickly
capture the subject,
paint? rather than its details.
• Colours are mixed as little
as possible, creating a
vibrant surface.
• In pure Impressionism
the use of black paint is
avoided.
• Wet paint is placed next
to wet paint without
waiting for successive
applications to dry,
producing softer edges
and an intermingling of
colour.
• The play of natural light is
emphasized – painters
often painted outdoors, to
capture the light and the
shadows.

4. Who were they? The most famous
were: Camille Pissarro

5. Alfred Sisley

6. Pierre-
Auguste
Renoir

7. Claude Monet

8. Berthe Morisot

9. Pointillism developed from
Impressionism
• Instead of using short brush strokes, the
artists use dots of pure colour. This gave
the painting a shimmering effect, as if it
were a sunny day.
• Famous pointillist artists were Georges
Seurat, Paul Signac and Henri Edmond
Cross

10. Bathers at Asnieres by Georges Seurat

11. Henri-Edmond Cross

12. Paul Signac