impressionism in Paris

Impressionism was more or less born 150 years ago in Paris. The day was April 15, and several brilliant artists who’d all struggled against the Salon system and the Academy joined forces to present a new vision to the world. Names like Monet, Renoir, Degas, and Cézanne stepped out together — and things were never quite the same again.

To celebrate this auspicious anniversary, the Musée d’Orsay is bringing together 130 works that epitomize the spirit of Spring 1874. All 31 artists shown in that fateful exhibition are represented here. And for edifying contrast, work that was celebrated at the Salon that same year are brought in for comparison. It’s a dramatic twist that once again pits the Academics versus the Rebels in one of the most important art museums in the world.

The exhibition runs from March 26th to July 14th, 2024, made possible by a collaboration between the Musée d’Orsay, the Musée de l'Orangerie, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC (where it will be on display from September 8, 2024 to January 20, 2025).

On your next trip to Paris, take in the excitement and Paris 1874: Inventing Impressionism. 

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Impressionism emerged in the late 19th century as a response to the Paris art scene, which was dominated by the strict Academic style and the overly controlled Salon system. 

France, along with much of Western Europe, was undergoing rapid industrialization and urbanization. These upended the cultural forces that had underpinned the Academy’s dominance over ideas about how art should be made. In that new environment of radical change, artists like Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Edgar Degas sought to capture the transient effects of light and color rather than the detailed realism favored by the academies.

This movement portrayed modern life as it really felt like — fleeting, ethereal, and new. Rather than dwell on traditional fare like historical scenes, these artists emphasized open-air painting and everyday subjects. 

At the time, the Salon referred to the exhibition of art by the Académie des Beaux-Arts — a make-or-break moment for many artists. The historic Paris 1874 Impressionist Exhibition marked a definitive break from the Salon, showcasing works that prioritized spontaneity and the artists' immediate impressions of a scene. 

Color is one of the main battlegrounds where Impressionism changed everything. European painters in the centuries before Impressionism approached color in a “realistic” way, trying to match it precisely on their canvas.

Impressionists took a much different approach. They brought a new understanding of how the eye combines sense information to produce an experience of color. For that reason, they would often combine strokes of different colors on the canvas, which would merge into a new color when looked at. Monet is famous for this.

Because of this work your eye does, Impressionist paintings often feel more “alive” when you stand before them. Your eye is synthesizing the colors on the spot, much like it does in the real world.

Still others attempted to render scenes in colors that better expressed what something feels like rather than what it literally looks like. Renoir and Cézanne are excellent examples of this.

While the Impressionists shared a common enemy (the Academy), they did not all approach art in the same way. The artists who made up the movement experimented in their own ways, leading to a diversity of styles.

For instance, a painting of ballerinas by Edgar Degas will be noticeably different than a domestic scene by Berthe Morisot. Both will contain groundbreaking ways to seize the moment as it really felt but in different ways. 

Degas loved scenes with movement, composed to captured that movement in as captivating a way as possible. His brushstroke is a bit more controlled, his palette a bit dark — adding some weight and physicality to the bodies he depicts. Morisot, on the other hand, gives us effervescence. Light colors and loose gatherings of brush strokes tighten around perfectly captured expressions, making the interior human experience paramount in her work.

Claude Monet can be called the father of Impressionism because he painted the first impressionist painting : Impression, Sunrise.

He added the title "Impression" bacause his painting was hazy, and gave the Impression of an unfinished work of a rising sun above Port of Le Havre.

Before this, Monet was not the first to be called an "impressionist" . While he is the famous impressionist today, Monet was not the first artist to creat artworks that defined art movement.

To sum up, Monet is known as the father of Impressionism for a number of reasons:

1. Monet’s      painting Impression, Sunrise is      where the movement gets its name.
2. Monet’s      style has all the most iconic features of Impressionism — a light color      palette, a focus on the features of light, and a focus on plein-air      landscapes and scenes from everyday life.
3. Monet is      perhaps the most famous in the style.

Many of his pieces are now among the best-known paintings in existence. These include his Water Lilies series, paintings of Rouen Cathedral, and Haystacks series.

But in my opinion, he is not hte Father of Impressionism because that title goes to rightfully to Édouard Manet. 

If you’d like to learn more about Claude Monet, check out our Ultimate Artist Tour.

Manet is defintely the Father of Impressionism. 

According to me, Manet was the audacious artist. He was the professor of Monet. He was the first to break apart from the redundant topics of the academy, to use new color techniques and particular treatment of light.

The artists and writers of his time recognize Manet as the Father of Impressionism eventhough he did not want to be identified as one.

Simply because Monet liked riding trains and things appear hazy from the moving train. The train was the new trendy transportation during his era. The motion across the retina is too fast for the eye to compensate so the image appears blurred. Monet loved this.

Impressionism is an art style that tries to capture the fleeting feeling of a moment (what you might call the impression), rather than a photorealistic image. But the connection between Monet and the term Impressionism goes much deeper.

When the Impressionists made their breakout exhibition in April 1874 (the same one celebrated this year in the Orsay show), they weren’t called Impressionists yet. But they were about to be.

It was in that show that Monet displayed his 1872 piece Impression, Sunrise — a hazy scene of morning at the port of Le Havre, the town where Monet grew up. The artist used the word “impression” to highlight the painting’s loose approach to detail.

In a review of the exhibition, Louis Leroy used the term to describe the style but mainly as a means of lampooning it. But something about Impressionism fit the movement so perfectly. 

Once in vogue to describe the new movement in painting, Impressionism was soon used to describe modernizing movements in a wide range of art forms, including music. It was applied to the work of none other than Claude Debussy, but he detested this.

Claude Debussy believed that the term suggested his music only managed to create some vague atmosphere that would come and go as quickly as the notes in the air. 

Debussy believed that his compositions were far more complex and well-structured than this, and so deserved a term that highlighted this element of his work. 

Initially, Impressionist paintings were seen as falling far short of the rules that the Academy had enforced and the Salon exhibitions had upheld. Art academies around Europe had spent centuries promoting a style that focused on idealized subjects, precision, and immaculate compositions. The Impressionists offered none of that.

The lack of idealized subjects led many critics at the time to believe the artists were painting trivial work that wasn’t worthy of serious attention. The lack of precision seemed sloppy — a sign that the artists were either incapable of properly painting or indecently stubborn in their refusal to do things the right way. The lack of immaculate compositions reinforced the idea to many that the artists simply didn’t know how to paint.

Of course, today, we feel very different. But considering the expectations and critical lenses people had at the time, it is easy to see why it took a long time for the Impressionists to gain wide acceptance.

We live in a time where Impressionism is widely considered one of, if not the, most important movements in art history. The acceptance is so deep that it's hard to see how they were ever considered controversial and rebellious. We love the soft colors, the lively brushwork, and the relatable subject matter.

When we look at these paintings, they capture how a moment in time felt, effortlessly transporting us there. And that has come to epitomize the role of the painter, especially in a world where everyone has a high-definition camera in their pocket.

The Impressionists appear unpretentious and accessible. We look at their paintings and immediately make a connection. There is no need to sit around and ponder the meaning — something many criticize contemporary art for.

With a movement so popular, there are no doubt thousands of reasons why people adore these painters and their work. But going over those reasons doesn’t do the artwork justice. Instead, one must see these pieces in person and simply appreciate the beauty on display.

To enjoy more the impressionists, make sure to schedule private tours of the best Impressionist collections in Paris, in this order of priority :

1 - Private tour of the Musée d’Orsay 

2 - Private Tour of the Musée de l'Orangerie

3 - Monet Marmottant Museum in Paris

4 - Go on a Day Tour to Giverny and the MDIG

Can I have a tour that is solely focus on Impressionism in Paris?

Yes. Flore Gurrey can arrange for you a bespoke tour that is focus on impressionism, with a specialized guide. She will be in charge of booking the right guide, buying the right tickets and making sure that the exhibit tour fits your agenda and happen in the best conditions.

If you are in Paris between March 26th and July 14th, we can check out together the Paris 1874: Inventing Impressionism at the Musée d’Orsay.