IMPRESSIONISM

S T E F A N I E D E A N E

Impressionism:

• 19th century art movement (from the

1870s and 1880s).

• Interaction between objective

descriptions of the exterior world and

the artists’ subjective responses.

• Depicts what the artists saw and felt.

Claude Monet, Impression: Sunrise, 1872. Oil on canvas, 1’ 7 ½’’ x 2’

1 ½’’. Musee Marmottan, Paris.

Edgar Degas, Ballet Rehearsal, 1874. Oil on canvas, 1’11’’ x 2’ 9’’.

Glasgow Art Galleries and Museum, Glasgow (The Burrell Collection).

Vincent Van Gogh, Starry Night, 1889. Oil on canvas, approx. 2’ 5’’ x 3’ ¼’’.

Museum of Modern Art, New York (acquired through the Lillie P. Bliss

Bequest).

Claude Monet, Saint-Lazare

Train Station, 1877. Oil on

canvas, 2’ 5 ¾’’ x 3’ 5’’. Musee

d’Orsay, Paris.

Gustave Caillebotte, Paris: A

Rainy Day, 1877. Oil on

canvas, approx. 6’ 9’’ x 9’9’’.

The Art Institute of Chicago,

Chicago, Worcester Fund.

Edouard Manet, A Bar at the

Folies-Bergere, 1882. Oil on

canvas, approx. 3’ 1’’ x 4’ 3’’.

Courtauld Institue of Art

Gallery, London.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Le

Moulin de la Galette, 1876. Oil

on canvas, approx. 4’ 3’’ x 5’

8’’. Musee d’Orsay, Paris.

Paul Cezanne, Mont

Sainte-Victoire, 1902-

1904. Oil on canvas, 2’ 3

½’’ x 2’ 11 ¼’’.

Philadelphia Museum of

Art, Philadelphia (The

George W. Elkins

Collection).

* Starry Night and Mont Sainte-Victoire are considered to be Post-

Impressionist paintings; they included the use of geometric/distorted

forms and bolder colors.

Realism:

Gustave Courbet, The

Stone Breakers, 1849. Oil

on canvas, 5’ 3’’ x 8’ 6’’.

Formerly at Gmalde-

galarie, Dresden

(destroyed in 1945).

Jean-Francois Millet, The

Gleaners, 1857. Oil on canvas,

approx, 2’ 9’’ x 3’ 8’’. Louvre,

Paris.

Question for the Class:

What is the difference between

Impressionism and Realism?

Answer: Impressionism focuses on a single

moment (what the artist saw and felt); Realism

focuses on the depiction of subjects as they

appear in everyday life.