Boulevard de Capucines, 1873, Claude Monet.
The Impressionist movement formed in the early 1870s, after the collapse of the Second French Empire and the beginning of the French Third Republic. Cultural and philosophical movements like Positivism and “La Belle Epoque” began to take shape in a politically unstable France. As the political and cultural scenes in France began to change, were people also ready for a new style of painting?
The First Impressionist Exhibition - 1874
Boulevard de Capucines, 1873, Claude Monet.
"For me, a landscape does not exist in its own right, since its appearance changes at every moment; but the surrounding atmosphere brings it to life - the light and the air which vary continually."
~Claude Monet, 1894
The show at the Boulevard des Capucines in Paris was critically received. Monet’s now-famous paintings were not regarded as “art” by reviewers. The historical painting by Monet, Impression, Sunrise, was shown at this exhibition.
Impression, Sunrise, 1872, Claude Monet.
"It’s been a long time since I’ve believed you can educate public taste."
~Monet writes to Berthe Morisot, Impressionist painter, 1886
Edgar Degas, 1855, Sartle.
Renoir in His Studio, 1910, Musee de l'Orangerie.
French Painter Camille Pissaro, ca. 1900.
Berthe Morisot, 1875, Charles Reutlinger.
Monet, Degas, Renoir, Pissarro and Morisot led the exhibition, and called themselves the Anonymous Society of Painters, Sculptures, Printmakers, etc.
“Impressionists” came from critic Louis Leroy’s articles, insulting their style.
Header Images: "Impression Sunrise", 1872, Claude Monet; "Water Lillies", 1906, Claude Monet; "Woman with a Parasol - Madame Monet and Her Son", 1875, Claude Monet; "The Cliff Walk at Pourville", 1882, Claude Monet.