Impressionism is an artistic movement that developed in France, in Paris, in the second half of the 19th century, precisely between 1860 and 1870 and lasted until the early 20th century. Impressionism was coined almost as a joke in 1874 at an event in a studio of the photographer Nadar where an exhibition was organised by a group of artists who gave themselves a name. Many people of different origins and ages took part, a heterogeneous group. This exhibition is a resounding failure and the reactions of the public are amused. A critic in front of a painting by Monet “Impression, sunrise“ coined the term Impressionism, but in a derogatory sense. At the 3rd exhibition, the artists accepted this term as a challenge, demonstrating their originality while taking inspiration from different models. In particular, it was the likes of Delacroix, Constable, Turner, Courbet, Corot and the Barbizon School that inspired the Impressionists, each with their own characteristics.
The best known Impressionists were Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, Federico Zandomeneghi, Camille Pissarro, Frédéric Bazille and Gustave Caillebotte.
Impressionism thus developed in France around 1860, in Paris to be precise. This current derives directly from realism, because it is interested above all in the representation of everyday reality. The element of the Impressionists is the interest in the everyday, reality is not understood as in Coubert, because they were interested in landscape and in particular in painting “en plein air”. Compared to realism, however, they did not share its ideological or political commitment: they did not deal with problems but only with the pleasant aspects of the society of the time. The story of Impressionism is almost like a comet crossing the history of art, revolutionising its technique. It lasted just under twenty years: by 1880, Impressionism could already be considered a closed experience, but it left a legacy that all subsequent pictorial experiences would come to terms with. It was Impressionism that opened up the history of contemporary art, Impressionism became the style of the Parisian dolce vita. The protagonists of Impressionism were mainly French painters. Among them, the most Impressionist of all was Claude Monet. For the Impressionists, working on the spot is fully justified because for them it is important to reproduce that moment, that moment of light; thus the painting is dynamic, made up of touches of colour, and it is what constructs the image.
Fundamental points for following the specificities of Impressionism are:
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