Impressionism - The Movement that Transformed Western Art

by Veronique Bouruet Aubertot

A comprehensive, accessible, and richly illustrated guide to impressionism—the perennially popular artistic movement that led to the radical renewal of Western art.

Monet, Renoir, Degas, Rodin, Cezanne, Van Gogh, and the other Impressionist artists burst onto the art scene in the second half of the nineteenth century, creating shock waves with their rebellious rejection of the academy’s strict rules dictating subject matter, style, and even color. Their art, labeled impressionism, coincided with the Industrial Revolution, when the world was suddenly jettisoned into modernity. The young artists who gave rise to the movement confronted public disdain and oppression in Europe, but were applauded overseas for their radically contemporary aesthetic.