Impressionism

Impression: soleil levant
Claude Monet

Impressionism is a nineteenth century art movement.
Impressionist art is a style were the artist paints the image of anobject as he sees it, even if it's just a glimpse. They paint using alot of colour, to make it very bright and vibrant, being as they are usually outdoor  scenes.
  Some of the greatest impressionist artists were Edouard Manet, Camille Pissaro, Edgar Degas, Alfred Sisley and Claude Monet

"Manet influenced the development of impressionism. He painted everyday objects. Pissaro and Sisley painted the French countryside and river scenes. Degas enjoyed painting ballet dancers and horse races. Morisot painted women doing everyday things. Renoir loved to show the effect of sunlight on flowers and figures. Monet was interested in subtle changes in the atmosphere." from http://www.cs.ucf.edu/~MidLink/Impress.html

 Characteristics include: small,thin yetviible brush strokes, open composition, emphai on accurate depiction of light.

Some information on some of the artists:

Edouard manet: He took up painting after constantly failing trying to get into the navy. He tudied under Thomas couture, a famou academic painter during that time. He visited many different places like brazil, Holland, Italy and Germany and was influenced by the old masters, especially those of the golden ages of spanish and venetian painting. His work began to cause a stir in 1863 but he became the most recognized figure in the Impressionist group. Bringing to them his idea of "pure painting".

 

 Camille Pissaro:  Rejecting to work in the family business, pissaro pursued the study of art as a child.

Pissarro settled in paris in october 1855 and met many artists of the day like Camille Corot who encouraged him to paint the landscape but to focus on village imagery of river and towns. Pissarro studied art at the Atelier suisse in Paris with his fellow artist, claude monet, paul cezanne and armand guillaumin. By late 1860s his landscapes were praised by critics like EmileZola and becameoneof the most influential members of the impressionist movement.

Edgar Degas : Moving on from studying law, degas entered the Ecole des Beaux- arts in 1855. Travelling to italy he found himself fastinated by the early renaissance painters. He later joined the impressionists yet remained an artist who prefered  painting indoors in order and neat surroundings.
Degas's famous bronze figures were cast after his death using the wax models he left in his studio.


A List of Impressionist Artists – Artists in the French Impressionism Movement and its Circle. 2013. A List of Impressionist Artists – Artists in the French Impressionism Movement and its Circle. [ONLINE] Available at: http://arthistory.about.com/od/impressionism/ig/impressionism/03_people.htm. [Accessed 05 April 2013].