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Impressionism Timeline
(1860s - Present)Impressionism was a revolutionary 19th-century art movement that originated in France, characterized by small, visible brushstrokes, an emphasis on light and its changing qualities, ordinary subject matter, and depictions of everyday life. Artists such as Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, and Camille Pissarro broke away from academic traditions, exhibiting independently after being rejected by the official Salon. The movement paved the way for modern art movements such as Post-Impressionism, Fauvism, and Cubism. More Less
Origins and Precursors
Académie des Beaux-Arts dominates French art
1850
In the middle of the 19th century—a time of rapid industrialisation and unsettling social change in France, as Emperor Napoleon III rebuilt Paris and waged war—the Académie des Beaux-Arts dominated French art with its traditional standards of subject matter and technique.
Image source: Impressionism
Vivid synthetic pigments become commercially available
1850
Many vivid synthetic pigments became commercially available to artists for the first time during the 19th century, enabling painters to work with brighter, more saturated colours than ever before.
Premixed paints in tin tubes introduced
1850
Impressionists took advantage of the mid-century introduction of premixed paints in tin tubes (resembling modern toothpaste tubes), which allowed artists to work more spontaneously, both outdoors and indoors.
Artists paint in the open air following Constable's practice
1855
Following a practice pioneered by artists such as the Englishman John Constable that had become increasingly popular by mid-century, artists often ventured into the countryside together to paint in the open air.
A lighter, brighter manner extends Realism
1860
By painting in sunlight directly from nature, and making bold use of vivid synthetic pigments available since the beginning of the century, artists began to develop a lighter and brighter manner of painting that extended further the Realism of Courbet and the Barbizon school.
Salon rejects Manet's Le déjeuner sur l'herbe
1863
In 1863, the Salon jury rejected Manet's Le déjeuner sur l'herbe ('The Luncheon on the Grass'), primarily because it depicted a nude woman with two clothed men at a picnic, scandalising the art establishment.
Image source: Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe
Salon des Refusés organised under Napoleon III
1863
After Emperor Napoleon III saw the rejected works of 1863, he decreed that the public be allowed to judge the works themselves, and the Salon des Refusés ('Salon of the Refused') was organised.
Image source: Salon des Refusés
Petitions for a new Salon des Refusés denied
1867 - 1872
Artists' petitions requesting a new Salon des Refusés in 1867, and again in 1872, were denied, pushing independent-minded painters toward organising their own exhibitions.
Key Artists and Works
Manet wins Salon medal for Spanish Singer
1861
Manet continued to submit his works to the Salon, where his painting Spanish Singer had won a 2nd class medal in 1861, and he urged others to do likewise, arguing that 'the Salon is the real field of battle' where a reputation could be made.
Image source: Édouard Manet
Monet paints Jardin à Sainte-Adresse
1867
An example of new influences is Monet's Jardin à Sainte-Adresse (1867), with its bold blocks of colour and composition on a strong diagonal slant showing the influence of Japanese prints.
Image source: Garden at Sainte-Adresse
Key Facts
- The name 'Impressionism' comes from Claude Monet's painting 'Impression, Sunrise' (1872), which critic Louis Leroy mockingly referenced in an 1874 review.
- The first independent Impressionist exhibition was held in Paris in 1874 at the studio of photographer Nadar, featuring works by Monet, Renoir, Degas, Pissarro, and others.
- Impressionist painters often worked outdoors (en plein air) to capture natural light and fleeting moments, aided by the invention of portable paint tubes.
- The group held eight independent exhibitions between 1874 and 1886, facing harsh criticism from traditional art institutions before gaining acceptance.
- Key Impressionist artists include Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, Edgar Degas, Berthe Morisot, and Mary Cassatt, the latter two providing important female perspectives in the movement.
Source
This Impressionism timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.
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