Examines the use of cafes, opera houses, dance halls, theaters, racetracks, and the seaside in impressionist French paintings

"This handsome publication, which accompanies a major exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, is a lively and engaging account of the artistic scene in Paris in the 1860s, the years that witnessed the beginnings of Impressionism. For the first time the interactions and relationships among the group of painters who became known as the Impressionists are examined without the overworn art historical polarities commonly evoked: academic versus avant-garde, classicist versus romantic, realist versus impressionist. A host of strong personalities contributed to this history, and their style evolved into a new way of looking at the world. These artists wanted above all to give an impression of truth and to have an impact on or even to shock the public. And they wanted to measure up to or surpass their elders. This complex and rich environment is presented here - the grand old men and the young turks encounter each other, the Salon pontificates, and the new generation moves fitfully ahead, benignly but always with determination." "Origins of Impressionism gives a day-by-day, year-by-year study of the genesis of an epoch-making style." "Bibliographies and provenances are provided for each of the almost two hundred works in the exhibition, and there is an illustrated chronology. With more than two hundred superb colorplates, this informative survey is an essential work for both the general reader and the scholar."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

"Inspiring Impressionism" explores links between Impressionists and the major European art-historical movements that came before them, demonstrating how often beneath the Impressionists' commitment to capturing contemporary life there lay a deep exploration of the art of the past. Presents Impressionist works by artists including Manet, Monet, Degas, Bazille, Cassatt, and Cezanne alongside those of Raphael, El Greco, Rubens, Velazquez, and others.

This study analyzes the impact of color-making technologies on the visual culture of nineteenth-century France, from the early commercialization of synthetic dyes to the Lumière brothers’ perfection of the autochrome color photography process. Focusing on Impressionist art, Laura Anne Kalba examines the importance of dyes produced in the second half of the nineteenth century to the vision of artists such as Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Claude Monet. The proliferation of vibrant new colors in France during this time challenged popular understandings of realism, abstraction, and fantasy in the realms of fine art and popular culture. More than simply adding a touch of spectacle to everyday life, Kalba shows, these bright, varied colors came to define the development of a consumer culture increasingly based on the sensual appeal of color. Impressionism—emerging at a time when inexpensively produced color functioned as one of the principal means by and through which people understood modes of visual perception and signification—mirrored and mediated this change, shaping the ways in which people made sense of both modern life and modern art. Demonstrating the central importance of color history and technologies to the study of visuality, Color in the Age of Impressionism adds a dynamic new layer to our understanding of visual and material culture.

A comprehensive, accessible, and richly illustrated guide to impressionism—the perennially popular artistic movement that led to the radical renewal of Western art. Monet, Renoir, Degas, Rodin, Cezanne, Van Gogh, and the other Impressionist artists burst onto the art scene in the second half of the nineteenth century, creating shock waves with their rebellious rejection of the academy’s strict rules dictating subject matter, style, and even color. Their art, labeled impressionism, coincided with the Industrial Revolution, when the world was suddenly jettisoned into modernity. The young artists who gave rise to the movement confronted public disdain and oppression in Europe, but were applauded overseas for their radically contemporary aesthetic. This complete and accessible guide renews and refreshes conventional views on impressionism by placing this seminal moment in art in its historical context. Emblematic masterpieces are examined with a focus on each detail, allowing a deeper understanding and appreciation of the artworks. Biographies of all the major artists of the movement provide insight about their life and significant works, and period photographs illustrate this incredibly rich and exciting time in art history. Organized thematically, the guide includes chapters on photography, fashion, female impressionists, exhibitions, galleries and dealers, writers, the movement’s influence on later artists, and recurrent impressionist themes including leisure activities, the garden, the city, and industry. Replete with illustrations and numerous firsthand accounts and quotations, this book recounts a story of emancipation.