Impressionist Style

Impressionist paintings include relatively small, thin brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on the accurate depiction of light and its changing qualities, ordinary scenes of human life, the inclusion of movement, and unusual visual angles. Begun in the 1870s by a small group of artists in Paris, early Impressionists broke the rules of academic painting. Previously paintings had usually been created in the studio, but Impressionists painted en plein air, using short "broken" brush strokes, not smoothly blended or shaded. The play of natural light and reflections are emphasized in this style. Surfaces are opaque, not a series of transparent glazes as in previous academic works. Paint is frequently applied impasto. Colours are laid side-by-side with as little mixing as possible, wet in wet to create a vibrant surface. The optical mixing of colours occurs in the eye of the viewer.

Impressionist Painters