The document summarizes the origins and key figures of the Impressionist movement in painting. It describes how the movement began in 1863 when many paintings were rejected from the official Salon exhibition in Paris. This led Emperor Napoleon III to organize an independent Salon des Refusés exhibition. This helped establish Impressionism as a new style of painting focused on capturing fleeting impressions and sensations rather than detailed renderings. The document outlines some of the main Impressionist painters like Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Sisley, and Degas and their contributions to the movement's loose brushwork style and use of plein air painting.