Impressionism — the birth of modernity

In the 1860s, something revolutionary happened in France: A group of young painters stepped out of their studios, set up their easels in nature, and painted what they saw — light, air, fleeting moments. The academic art world was appalled. The birth of Impressionism was one of the most consequential revolutions in the history of art.

Claude Monet gave the movement its name: His painting "Impression, soleil levant" (1872), showing the port of Le Havre in morning light, was scornfully dismissed by a critic as a mere "impression". The Impressionists embraced the mockery as an honorary title.

What united the Impressionists: They painted the light instead of things. Short brushstrokes, pure colors placed side by side, no smooth surfaces, no historical themes. They painted life as it was — strollers by the river, dancers backstage, summer days in the garden, the play of sunlight on water.

The Great Impressionists

• Claude Monet — Water lilies, haystacks, cathedrals in changing light. His garden in Giverny is a pilgrimage site
• Pierre-Auguste Renoir — sensual joie de vivre, dance scenes, portraits of women. "Bal du Moulin de la Galette" is one of the most popular paintings in the Musée d'Orsay
• Edgar Degas — Ballet dancers, horse races, bathers. Technically brilliant, often in unusual perspectives
• Camille Pissarro — Landscapes, city views of Paris, the "teacher" of the Impressionists
• Berthe Morisot — one of the few women of the movement, intimate family scenes in bright colors

After Impressionism came Post-Impressionism (Cézanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin), Fauvism (Matisse, Derain), and Cubism (Picasso, Braque) — all born in France. The Musée d'Orsay in Paris, housed in a former train station, has the world's best collection of Impressionist art.