Impressionism is one of the world’s most beloved art movements today.
We associate it with dreamy ballerinas, golden haystacks, shimmering water lilies, and soft, light-filled landscapes.
But when these paintings first appeared, they weren’t admired. They were ruthlessly mocked. The artists behind them were ridiculed, rejected, and even called “lunatics with paintbrushes.”
Here’s a mini history of Impressionism, the artists who redefined art, and the paintings that went from scandalous to priceless.
What Is Impressionism?
Impressionism wasn’t always king. It didn’t start as the beloved, light-filled style we admire today.
In fact, it began as a rebellion. In the late 19th century, a group of artists rejected the strict rules of the art world.
Their work was constantly rejected by the Salon, the government-approved art exhibition. The Salon was the star-making machine where buyers came with fat wallets.
So, the Impressionists took matters into their own hands and held their own shows.
Critics were brutal. They dismissed the paintings as unfinished, messy, and downright ugly.
The name “Impressionism” itself started as an insult, thanks to a sneering review of Monet’s Impression: Sunrise. The critic claimed it was nothing more than an “impression”—worse than wallpaper. Instead of being discouraged, the artists embraced the label.
A New Way To Paint
Rule Breakers
Traditional painters focused on history, mythology, and polished, detailed scenes. Impressionists, on the other hand, broke all the rules. They painted real life as they saw and felt it.
Instead of careful outlines and smooth shading, they used quick, visible brushstrokes and vibrant colors. Their goal wasn’t perfection.
It was capturing a moment—the flicker of sunlight on water, the blur of people in a cafe, the shimmer of morning fog. With the splintered brushstrokes and gashes of color, you could see the paint itself, another blasphemy of academic art.
Édouard Manet
One of the biggest influences on the Impressionists wasn’t actually an Impressionist himself. Édouard Manet rocked the art world with his bold, modern subjects and rejection of traditional techniques.
His 1863 painting Le Déjeuner sur l’Herbe scandalized critics with its stark contrast between a nude woman and fully clothed men in a contemporary setting.
Manet’s brushwork was looser than academic painting. But it was still more structured than the Impressionists who followed.
Though he never fully joined their ranks, he encouraged Monet, Renoir, and others to push the boundaries of what art could be.
Claude Monet
Claude Monet was the heart and soul of the Impressionist movement. He and his fellow painters — Renoir, Pissarro, Sisley, and Cassatt — were obsessed with light.
They experimented with color and perspective, trying to catch a single instant in time. Monet called it the “search for instantaneity.”
During his years living in Giverny, Monet came to be regarded as one of the world’s greatest artists. He stopped painting people altogether.
Only nature captivated him. Monet produced some of his most famous works — shimmering poplars, glowing haystacks, and iridescent sheets of water lilies in a blurry pastel palette.
During the 1890s, Monet also created his famous “series” — multiple renditions of Rouen Cathedral, the Houses of Parliament, poplars, and haystacks.
In these groundbreaking series, Monet’s work became more abstract. He shifted to soft and flowing portrayals, with liquid-like unstable surfaces. In these paintings, there’s no real beginning or end.
In his last two decades, Monet created over 250 paintings of his beloved water lilies, from his prodigal Giverny gardens. He was one of the few artists to achieve financial and critical success in his lifetime.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir is often considered the second most famous Impressionist, right after Claude Monet. While Monet was the defining figure of the movement, Renoir was arguably the most popular during his lifetime.
His warm, glowing depictions of social life, portraits, and nudes made him a household name. Renoir was passionately interested in color and human connection.
Renoir painted so many frothy, child-like nudes you may tire of him. And, in fact, Renoir hating is pretty much de rigeur in art circles.
Critics often dismiss his later work as overly saccharine, repetitive, and lacking the depth of his early paintings. His soft-focus nudes, in particular, are criticized for their almost waxy, doll-like appearance.
Still, Renoir’s use of color, mastery of light, and ability to capture movement are undeniable. Some art historians argue that his later work should be viewed on its own terms, rather than compared to his early Impressionism
Berthe Morisot & Mary Cassatt
Very few women painters gained recognition in the 19th century due to strict societal barriers.
Art academies often refused to admit them. Even when they did, women were discouraged from painting large historical scenes or nudes, both seen as the highest forms of art. Despite this, some female artists broke through and became famous, especially in Impressionism.
Berthe Morisot was one of the founding members of Impressionism, yet she often gets overshadowed by her male counterparts. She exhibited in nearly every Impressionist exhibition and was just as bold in breaking artistic traditions.
Unlike many of her peers who focused on landscapes and urban life, Morisot painted intimate domestic scenes.
Her loose, airy brushstrokes and soft color palette gave her paintings a dreamlike quality. The Cradle, her most famous work, depicts her sister tenderly watching over a sleeping baby.
Mary Cassatt was the only American artist fully embedded in the Impressionist circle. Born in Pennsylvania, she moved to Paris and became a close friend of Degas. He encouraged her to experiment with pastels and unconventional compositions.
Like Morisot, Cassatt was known for her portraits of women and children. But she rejected sentimentalism, portraying her subjects with a sharp eye for detail and personality.
Her works, like The Bath, blended Japanese print influences with Impressionist light and color, creating striking, modern compositions.
Unlike many of her peers, Cassatt had a keen business sense. She helped introduce Impressionist art to American collectors, ensuring its popularity in the U.S. long before it was widely accepted in France.
Not Everyone Fit the Mold
Impressionism inspired many, but not all the artists fully joined the movement.
Manet influenced them but kept his own style. He refused to exhibit with them, seeking (but not often getting) Salon approval. But his unconventional subject matter and handling of paint shows his influence.
Degas is a hard painter to classify. He painted ballerinas and cafe scenes.
He preferred working in his studio rather than outdoors. He chose untraditional subjects and rendered them in unusual perspectives.
Some historians group these two artists with the Impressionists. But they really stood apart in their own ways.
Where To See Impressionist Art
Today, Impressionism is everywhere.
American collectors loved it. So, most major U.S. museums have at least a few pieces.
The best collections are at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
In Paris, you can see masterpieces at the Musée d’Orsay, the Orangerie, and the Musée Marmottan Monet.
Most Famous Paintings
Here are the top 10+ most famous Impressionist paintings for your Impressionism bucket list:
1. Impression, Sunrise – Claude Monet
📍 Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris
The painting that started it all. Monet’s hazy, dreamlike depiction of Le Havre’s harbor gave the movement its name after a critic mocked it as just an “impression.”
2. Water Lilies Series – Claude Monet
📍 Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris (largest panels), Musée Marmottan Monet, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Monet’s obsession with light and water led to over 250 paintings of his garden’s water lilies. The dreamy, color-soaked canvases are the pinnacle of Impressionist brushwork.
3. The Dance Class – Edgar Degas
📍 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Degas’ fascination with ballet shines in this detailed painting of young dancers in rehearsal, capturing movement, exhaustion, and elegance.
4. Luncheon of the Boating Party – Pierre-Auguste Renoir
📍 The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.
A lively outdoor scene of friends dining and laughing along the Seine, Renoir’s masterpiece radiates warmth and joy.
5. Woman with a Parasol – Claude Monet
📍 National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Monet captures a fleeting, windblown moment as his wife and son take a stroll under a bright summer sky.
6. The Cradle – Berthe Morisot
📍 Musée d’Orsay, Paris
One of the most tender Impressionist paintings, this piece shows Morisot’s sister watching over her sleeping baby.
7. The Floor Scrapers – Gustave Caillebotte
📍 Musée d’Orsay, Paris
Unusual for Impressionism, Caillebotte focused on realism and perspective, here portraying laborers sanding a wooden floor.
8. The Bath – Mary Cassatt
📍 Art Institute of Chicago
Cassatt’s work often depicted the quiet, everyday lives of women. This intimate painting of a mother bathing her child is among her best-known.
9. La Grenouillère – Claude Monet
📍 National Gallery, London
An early work that defined Impressionism, this lively riverside scene shows people lounging at a floating café along the Seine.
10. Ballet Rehearsal – Edgar Degas
📍 Musée d’Orsay, Paris
Degas’ love of movement and composition comes through in this dynamic painting of ballerinas practicing in a sunlit room.
11. Le Déjeuner sur l’Herbe – Édouard Manet
📍 Musée d’Orsay, Paris
Not strictly Impressionist, but Manet was the movement’s biggest influence. His bold, shocking picnic scene with a nude woman and fully clothed men scandalized Paris and paved the way for the entire Impressionist movement.
What started as a radical movement is now one of the most popular styles in art history. The paintings that once outraged critics are now priceless treasures. Not bad for a group of so-called amateurs with “unfinished” paintings.
I hope you’re enjoyed my mini history of Impressionism. You may enjoy these other art travel guides:
- Best Museums in the US
- Florence art bucket list
- Venice art bucket list
- London art bucket list
- Italy art bucket list
- Best museums in Paris
- Best museums in Rome
- Best museums in Madrid
- Best museums in London
- Best museums in Barcelona
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