A Brief History of Impressionism

A Brief History of Impressionism

Part 1

Although some of the most respected artists in the Western canon were part of Impressionism, the term “Impressionist” was originally intended as a derogatory term used by art critics who were completely overwhelmed by this new style of painting. Although the rise of Impressionism in France came at a time when many other artists, including the Italian painter known as Macchiaioli and Winslow Homer in the United States, were also studying outdoor painting, the Impressionists developed new techniques specific to their art. And a new why. Many artists participated in the first French Impressionist exhibition in 1874, but Claude Monet (1840-1926), Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919), Camille Pissarro (1831-1903), Edgar Degas (1834-1917), Alfred Sisley (1839 -99) and Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901) were the main figures who formed the backbone of Impressionism.

In fact, what Impressionist artists tried to paint was not a reflection of real life, but the impression of a person, light, atmosphere, object or landscape as they appeared to them. They try to capture the movement and life of what they see and show it to us as if it were happening right before our eyes.

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Team Lauren Forcella

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About Lauren Forcella

Lauren Forcella is an award-winning California artist with 27 years of experience. If art was writing, Forcella’s style would be called magical realism. Indeed, her paintings are a love letter to this beautiful Earth. In art, her style is called alla prima impressionism. Forcella uses a bold palette of classic oils. She lays the paint on thick so the emotions of her subject come through the brushstrokes as well as the color. Read More…

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