The Impressionism

The history of Impressionism is woven from a series of encounters between artists in search of independence in the second half of the 19th century.

Around figures such as Claude Monet, Édouard Manet, Alfred Sisley, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne, Camille Pissarro and Vincent Van Gogh, a common will took shape : to free oneself from the strict codes imposed by the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture.

Refused by official galleries, mocked by part of the press and the public, these painters chose to organise their own exhibitions. 

The first one, set up in the 1860s with the support of the photographer Nadar, did not find its audience. The general public, unsettled, perceived these canvases as rough, vulgar sketches.

The role of art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel was crucial in the recognition of the movement. It was during a stay in London that Monet met him. Durand-Ruel patiently bought, exhibited and promoted the works of the Impressionists, helping them to gradually reach an international audience.

• A movement that emerged in the second half of the 19th century
• The term appeared in 1874, based on Claude Monet’s painting Impression, Sunrise, painted in 1872
• Main artists: Monet, Renoir, Sisley, Pissarro, Degas, Morisot, Cézanne
• Major support from art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel
• Critically defended by Émile Zola and Octave Mirbeau