Picking up on the ideas of Gustave Courbet, the Impressionists aimed to be painters of the real: they aimed to extend the possible subjects for paintings.For this reason, many critics faulted Impressionist paintings for their unfinished appearance and seemingly amateurish quality. They abandoned traditional three-dimensional perspective and rejected the clarity of form that had previously served to distinguish the more important elements of a picture from the lesser ones. The Impressionists used looser brushwork and lighter colors than previous artists.All of these moves predicted the emergence of modern art, and the whole associated philosophy of the avant-garde. The Impressionists also rejected official exhibitions and painting competitions set up by the French government, instead organizing their own group exhibitions, which the public were initially very hostile to. This often meant using much lighter and looser brushwork than painters had up until that point, and painting out of doors, en plein air. Instead, as their name suggests, the Impressionists tried to get down on canvas an “impression” of how a landscape, thing, or person appeared to them at a certain moment in time.

They weren’t interested in painting history, mythology, or the lives of great men, and they didn’t seek perfection in visual appearances. At some point in the 1860s, a group of young artists decided to paint, very simply, what they saw, thought, and felt. Impressionism is perhaps the most important movement in the whole of modern painting.

Monet the triumph of impressionism