If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.
You already know Dokkio is an AI-powered assistant to organize & manage your digital files & messages. Very soon, Dokkio will support Outlook as well as One Drive. Check it out today!

French Impressionism

Page history last edited by Katie Q. 14 years ago

French Impressionism

Impressionism is a very well known style of art. It became popular in the second half of the 19th century and originated in France. Some of the most well known impressionists are French. It is a different style of painting. In 1861 the first color pictures were taken as the camera became a new invention. Painters could not keep up with this new technology because most of their business came from people who wanted self portraits of themselves. Why would they want a painting when they could have an actual photograph? Because of this, painters encountered problems and did not have as many jobs. This is why the new style of painting came about. The actual name "Impressionism" was developed when a critic was giving one of Claude Monet's (a famous French impressionist) paintings a bad review. He claimed it looked like Monet had only painted his first impression of the scene rather than taking the time to make the painting better. Here is Monet's painting Impression, Soliel Levant or Sunrise.

In the past people had favored paintings that looked more realistic. In impressionism however, brush strokes are shown instead of blending techniques. These paintings were different and caused lots of criticism. However, this new form of art later became popular. Some of the most famous French impressionists include Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Edgar Degas and Alfred Sisley.

Here are some examples of impressionist paintings that show its unique brush strokes and qualities. These are some of the most well known French impressionist paintings.

Here are some sample images of a few of the most famous French Impressionist paintings.

This is an impressionist painting by Alfred

Sisley entitled View of the Saint-Martin

Canal in Paris. It was painted in 1870.

The Cliff at Étretat after the Storm pictured here is another famous painting by Claude Monet in 1885.

This is a painting by Camille Pissarro which is called The Road to Louveciennes.


This painting is called Houses at Argenteuil by Claude Monet.	This is a painting by the impressionist Edgar Degas which is called Dance Class and was painted in 1874.	The Artists Garden at Vetheuil was painted by Claude Monet in 1880.


This painting shows lots of the brush strokes which is a unique characteristic of impressionist painting.	Here is another example of a French impressionist painting that uses slightly smaller brush strokes.	This painting by Claude Monet is entitled "Water Lilies."

Famous French Impressionists:


This is a photograph of Claude Monet.	Here is another famous French impressionist Camille Pissarro.	This is the impressionist Edgar Degas.	A self-portrait of Alfred Sisley is shown above.