Artsper Blog Famous Impressionist Paintings You Need to Know About

The modern era brought many changes, including the shift in art styles and topics chosen by artists. Writing about the period in his book The Painting of Modern Life, the famous art theorist T. J. Clark defined Impressionist art - characterised by the visible brushstrokes, the disintegration of forms, flatness, and the depiction of light effects - as a representation of the transformation of social class. Observing form together with social changes, Clark established a new reading of Impressionism that bridges formal and social considerations. Writing about one of Manet's paintings, he says: "What Manet was painting was the look of a new form of life - a placid form, a modest form, but one with a claim to pleasure." How Édouard Manet changed Art History here. By choosing to paint what they saw around them, particularly in Paris, Impressionists and their followers created a new, modern image of the world, showcasing, through form, its defining aspects. Among the leading representatives of Impressionism were Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Camille Pissarro. They worked mainly in Paris but also travelled to the seaside to make paintings depicting the impressions of light on the water, usually completing their works in a day. The most famous Impressionist work, Claude Monet's Impression Sunrise, defined the movement. Impressionists rejected academism and created their own exhibition that took place each year in Paris from 1874-1886. The selection below highlights some of the most famous examples of Impressionist paintings. Featured image: Impressionist artist Georges Seurat's work A Sunday Afternoon On The Island Of La Grande Jatte, painted between 1884-1886, Creative Commons Georges Seurat, A Sunday Afternoon On The Island Of La Grande Jatte, 1884-1886 A quick glance at this monumental Georges Seurat's painting A Sunday Afternoon On The Island Of La Grande Jatte reveals a world that seems frozen in time. In addition, the figures appear [...]The article Famous Impressionist Paintings You Need to Know About appeared first on Artsper Magazine.