Impressionism was a movement in French painting that took shape in Paris in the 1860s, when young artists such as Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro and Alfred Sisley began painting outdoors to capture changing light and fleeting moments rather than polished historical subjects. They used quick, visible brushstrokes and bright colour, helped by portable paint tubes and the new railways that took them out of the city. Their first group exhibition in 1874 drew mocking reviews, and the name came from a critic's reaction to Monet's painting Impression, Sunrise. The movement changed Western art and opened the way to Post-Impressionism and later modern styles.
Before and after
- 1860Discovery of caesium
- 1860Introduction of Finnish markka
- from c. 1860s to 1890sSecond Industrial Revolution
- c. 1860sRise of modern art
- c. 1860sImpressionism
- 29 January 1860Birth of Anton Chekhov
- 7 July 1860Birth of Gustav Mahler
- 6 September 1860Birth of Jane Addams
- 18 September 1860Battle of Castelfidardo
More in Art, literature & culture
- 1792Publication of La Marseillaise
- 5 May 1821Founding of The Guardian
- 7 May 1824Beethoven's Ninth Symphony premieres
- 26 November 1865Publication of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
- 19 March 1882Construction of Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Holy Family
- from 1886 to 1905Rise of Post-impressionism
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.