Impressionism is a style of painting that emerged in France in the second half of the 19th century. Impressionism is characterized by the use of loose and visible brushstrokes, bright and vibrant colors, and the depiction of light and its effects on the objects and atmosphere. Impressionism also aimed to capture the fleeting and spontaneous impressions of the modern life, such as urban scenes, leisure activities, landscapes, and seascapes.

Impressionism was influenced by several artistic and cultural movements, such as realism, photography, Japanese art, and the scientific discoveries of color theory and optics. Impressionists also experimented with new techniques and materials, such as painting outdoors (en plein air), using synthetic pigments, and applying paint in thin layers or dabs (impasto).

The name Impressionism comes from the title of a painting by Claude Monet, Impression, Sunrise (1872), which was exhibited in 1874 along with other works by a group of independent artists who called themselves the Anonymous Society of Painters, Sculptors, Printmakers, etc. The critic Louis Leroy mocked their paintings as mere “impressions” and not finished works of art. The term Impressionism was then adopted by the artists themselves and the public to define their movement.

The leader of Impressionism was Claude Monet, who devoted his life to painting nature in different seasons, times, and weather conditions. He used pure colors, soft brushstrokes, and atmospheric effects to create paintings that expressed his sensations and emotions. He often painted series of the same subject under different light situations, such as Haystacks (1890-91), Rouen Cathedral (1892-94), and Water Lilies (1897-1926).

Other important Impressionist artists were Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, Alfred Sisley, Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, Gustave Caillebotte, Paul Cézanne , Édouard Manet , Frédéric Bazille , Armand Guillaumin , Eva Gonzalès , Marie Bracquemond , Gustave Courbet , Édouard Manet , James Abbott McNeill Whistler , John Singer Sargent , Joaquín Sorolla , Childe Hassam , William Merritt Chase , Theodore Robinson , Willard Metcalf , John Henry Twachtman , Frederick Carl Frieseke , Frank Weston Benson , Edmund Charles Tarbell , Philip Leslie Hale , Lilla Cabot Perry , Cecilia Beaux , Mary Fairchild MacMonnies Low , Elizabeth Nourse , Daniel Ridgway Knight , Alfred Sisley , Camille Pissarro , Paul Gauguin , Vincent van Gogh , Paul Signac , Georges Seurat , Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec , Henri Matisse , André Derain , Maurice de Vlaminck , Raoul Dufy , Kees van Dongen , Albert Marquet , Henri Manguin , Charles Camoin , Jean Puy , Othon Friesz and others. They shared Monet’s interest in the impressionistic approach to painting but they also developed their own personal styles and techniques. They painted various subjects such as portraits, dancers, bathers, workers, peasants, gardens, boulevards, cafes, and boats.

Impressionism was one of the most influential styles of the 19th century and one of the first steps towards modern art. It inspired many later movements such as Post-Impressionism, Neo-Impressionism, Pointillism, Fauvism, Expressionism, Cubism, Orphism and others