The Impressionist Movement
This artistic movement began in the mid-19th century in Paris, and while the paintings may look classical today, they were not at the time. The artists who came to be called “impressionists” (named for a Claude Monet painting, Impression Sunrise) were radicals at the time. They rejected the in-style art form at the time. Controlled by L’Academie des Beaux-Arts, the contemporary art community favored portraits, historical scenes, and religious subjects. French impressionists painted landscapes and images of everyday life, with female impressionists like Mary Cassatt among them. They created literal impressions of what they saw and experienced.Impressionist exhibitions reached their pinnacle in the 1870s and 1880s. Impressionist painters often painted en plein air, or outdoors. They often benefited from an up-close look at their subjects and natural lighting.
What Are the Characteristics of Impressionist Art?
Impressionists benefited from a few developments in technology and society. First, paint itself was more readily available and less expensive in the mid-late 19th century. It was also available in a wider variety of colors. Other than that, some of the characteristics of impressionist art are:- Short, thick brushstrokes
- Wet paint is placed on wet paint, allowing the colors to mix gently and creating soft edges.
- Light-colored canvases (previous painters used dark backgrounds)
- Attention to shadow and natural light because of the tendency to paint en plein air. Impressionists often emphasized shadows and reflections.
- Little mixing of color to emphasize contrast
1. Amélie Beaury-Saurel
- Born: 1849, Barcelona
- Died: 1924, Paris
2. Anna Ancher
- Born: 1859, Skagen, Denmark
- Died: 1935, Skagen, Denmark
Her work has represented Danish art in exhibitions worldwide. Some of her most famous paintings include Sorg (1902) and A Funeral (1891).
3. Anna Bilinska-Bohdanowicz
- Born: 1854, present-day Ukraine
- Died: 1893, Warsaw
4. Anna Elizabeth Klumpke
- Born: 1856, San Francisco, California, USA
- Died: 1942, San Francisco
5. Annie Stebler-Hopf
- Born: 1861, Switzerland
- Died: 1918, Zurich
In 1890 she returned to her home country and lived most of the remainder of her life in Switzerland. The Swiss Society of Fine Arts exhibited her work in 1894. Her work is known for confronting brutal or grotesque subject matter, as seen in one of her most famous paintings, The Autopsy.
6. Annie Louise Swynnerton
- Born: 1844, Manchester, UK
- Died: 1933, Hayling Island, UK
7. Asta Nørregaard
- Born: 1853, Oslo, Norway
- Died: 1933, Oslo
8. Berthe Morisot
- Born: 1841, Bourges, France
- Died: 1895, Paris
Some of Morisot’s most famous paintings include Reading, which she painted outdoors, and Woman at Her Toilette.
9. Cecilia Beaux
- Born: 1855, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Died: 1944, Gloucester, Massachusetts, USA
While in Europe, Beaux’s teachers strongly influenced her, including Tony Robert-Fleury, who rejected impressionism. She resisted this and other modern art movements, but her style reflected many of their techniques, including painting en plein air and capturing everyday scenes.
In some ways, Beaux brought impressionism to the world’s wealthy elite. She became one of the most sought-after portraitists of her time, but she tended to capture her subjects in everyday, tender moments.Some of the best examples include Dorothea and Francesca (1898) and Ernesta (1894). In addition, oil paintings and Beaux’s brushstrokes reflect impressionism.
Beaux won several awards in her lifetime and posthumously. She won a gold medal for lifetime achievement from the National Institute of Arts and Letters and a Gold Medal at Exposition Universelle in 1900. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt described her as “the American woman who had made the greatest contribution to the culture of the world.”10. Clara Southern
- Born: 1860, Victoria, Australia
- Died: 1940, Melbourne, Australia
11. Edma Morisot
- Born: 1839, Valenciennes, France
- Died: 1921, Paris
12. Elin Daneilson-Gambogi
- Born: 1861, Finland
- Died: 1919, Italy
13. Elizabeth Jane Gardner Bouguereau
- Born: 1837, New Hampshire, United States
- Died: 1922, St. Cloud, France
Many of her famous paintings, including and Ruth and Naomi, depict Biblical or religious scenes. Others portray animated scenes of ordinary people.
14. Elizabeth Nourse
Born: 1859, Ohio, USA Died: 1938, Paris Though American-born, Elizabeth Nourse spent much of her illustrious career as a painter and prominent member of the arts community in Paris. She exhibited at the Salon de Paris and won awards at several international expositions, often the only American artist to do so. Despite her success on the international stage, Nourse was almost entirely American-trained. She spent the early years of her career painting landscapes and genre scenes. Throughout her career, she stood out even among her male colleagues for supporting herself solely through painting. She did not teach, marry, nor did she have wealthy patrons. For this, she was considered a “New Woman,” along with other artists like Mary Cassatt. After moving to Paris in 1887, she quickly completed her education at the Academie Julian under Gustave Boulanger. While there, she made crucial connections. She is best remembered for painting women, especially poor women and women caring for their families.15. Ellen Thesleff
- Born: 1869, Helsinki
- Died: 1954
16. Emma Löwstädt-Chadwick
- Born: 1855, Stockholm, Sweden
- Died: 1932, Avignon, France
She exhibited at the Salon de Paris regularly after her debut. Some of her most famous impressionist paintings include Resting and Off to Sea. Later in life, she experimented with other art movements and even graphics.
She and her husband (American painter Francis Brooks Chadwick) moved to north-central France in the late 1880s and helped found an artists’ colony there with expatriates from all over the western world. Most of them were fellow impressionists, and they collaborated at this peaceful estate.17. Eva Gonzalès
- Born: 1849, Paris
- Died: 1883, Paris
Some of her most famous works include Box at the Theater des Italiennes and Plage de Dieppe.
18. Fanny Churberg
- Born: 1845, Vaasa, Finland
- Died: 1892, Helsinki
19. Hanna Hirsch-Pauli
- Born: 1864, Stockholm
- Died: 1940, Solna, Sweden
She received her early training at the Royal Swedish Academy but moved to Paris like so many others. There, she formed close relationships with several other female impressionists like Eva Bonnier. A portrait of another friend, The Artist Venny Soldan-Brofeldt, met much backlash and controversy for the casual way it portrayed a woman.
She won a third-place medal at the 1889 Exposition Universelle and participated in exhibitions across Europe and the United States. She painted mainly portraits later in life but continued to use the thick application of paint common among impressionists.20. Harriet Backer
- Born: 1845, Holmestrand, Norway
- Died: 1932, Oslo
At the end of the 1880s, she returned to Norway and founded a school for painters. In Norway, she is still remembered as one of the most influential painters of her time. One of her most famous paintings, Christening in Tanum Church, was exhibited initially in Oslo and then at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893.
21. Helen McNicoll
- Born: 1879, Toronto, Canada
- Died: 1915, Dorset, England
She made impressionism impossible to resist for Canadians thanks to her expert use of bright light and color. She often painted her subjects outdoors and used the characteristic brushstrokes of the impressionists. You can see it in paintings like The Apple Gatherer and Montreal en Hiver.
Shortly before her early death, the Royal Society of British Artists elected her to their ranks in 1913. A year later, she was also elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.22. Helene Schjerfbeck
- Born: 1862, Helsinki
- Died: 1946, Sweden
23. Jane Peterson
- Born: 1876, Illinois, USA
- Died: 1965, USA
24.Jane Sutherland
(Wikipedia)
Born: 1853, New York, USA
Died: 1928, Australia
Jane Sutherland was an important Australian artist (her family returned from the United States while she was a child). She belonged to the Heidelberg School, which was essentially the epicenter of impressionism down under. She left her mark not only with her paintings but also with the work she did to help other female artists.
Sutherland trained and exhibited at the Victorian Academy of Art, the Victorian Artists’ Society, and the Australian Artists’ Association throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
25. Julie Delance-Feurgard
- Born: 1859, Paris
- Died: 1892, Paris
Several of her paintings are currently in a private collection, though Breslau’s portrait of her painting outdoors hangs in the MCBA in France. One of her most famous paintings is The Marriage, which places guests in the foreground and the wedding party as a minor background detail.
26. Julie Manet
(Wikipedia) Born: 1878, France Died: 1966 Julie Manet was art royalty; she was the only child of Berthe Morisot, and her uncle was Edouard Manet. Both of them, as well as other illustrious artists in her circle, influenced her work. She frequently modeled for Pierre-Auguste Renoir throughout her childhood. Her teenage diary, Growing Up with the Impressionists, documents her time with him as well as Degas, Monet, and Sisley. Manet was an accomplished artist in her own right. Much of her work remained in a private collection for decades, but the Musee Marmottan Monet in France has worked to find her paintings and display them to the public.27. Kitty Kielland
- Born: 1853, Stavanger, Norway
- Died: 1914, Oslo
In 1875, she moved to Munich to join a Norwegian artists’ colony. In the 1880s, she traveled to Jaeren in southern Norway and created one of her most celebrated paintings. Sommernacht, or , is an oil on canvas in the impressionist style. She painted it in the natural light, capturing the ethereal beauty of the land at that fleeting moment before the sun fully sets.
Years later, Kitty moved to Paris like so many of her impressionist contemporaries. While there, she finally exhibited her paintings, including at four world exhibitions. She also taught at the Academie Colarossi and co-founded the Norwegian Association for Women’s Rights in 1884.28. Lady Elizabeth Butler
- Born: 1846, Laussanne, Switzerland
- Died: 1933, County Meath, Ireland
29. Laura Muntz Lyall
- Born: 1860, Warwickshire, England
- Died: 1930, Toronto
30. Lilla Cabot Perry
- Born: 1848, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
- Died: 1933, New Hampshire, USA
Perry was a prolific painter who produced hundreds of works during her lifetime. Some of her most famous works include In a Japanese Garden and Lady with a Bowl of Violets. She was also a gifted poet.
31. Louise Catherine Breslau
- Born: 1856, Munich
- Died: 1927, Switzerland
32. Marianne Stokes
- Born: 1855, Austria
- Died: 1927, England
Like so many of her peers, Stokes studied in Paris. There, she befriended many women figures and artists, including Helene Schjerfbeck and Anna Archer. Despite her French connections, her first exhibited painting (Reflections) was in London at the Royal Academy.
Stokes spent most of the remainder of her career in England, though she and her husband joined Archer at the artists’ retreat in Skagen, Denmark. She traveled widely around the globe, exhibiting at many places, including the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago.Her work was daring and diverse; art historians note influences as varied as Marie Bracquemond to Raphael. Some of her most impressionist paintings include On the Way to the Fields and Sweet Dreams.
33. Marie Bashkirtseff
- Born: 1858, Poltava, Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine)
- Died: 1884, Paris
34. Marie Bracquemond
- Born: 1840, France
- Died: 1916, Paris
Marie Bracquemond worked alongside famous impressionists like Degas and Monet. However, largely due to the pressure at home, she stopped painting in the second half of her life. Some of her most famous works include On the Terrace at Sevres and one of her last paintings, The Artist’s Son and Sister in the Garden at Sevres.
35. Marie Petiet
- Born: 1854, Limoux, France
- Died: 1893, Paris
She married fellow artist Etienne Dujardin-Beaumetz and moved to the south of France. She became fascinated with the region’s working people, who are the subjects of many of her paintings, including Laundresses and Girl Asleep.
36. Mary Cassatt
- Born: 1844, Pennsylvania, USA
- Died: 1926, Paris
Like many of her fellow impressionists, Cassatt preferred to paint women and children engaged in everyday activities. Some of her most famous paintings include Little Girl in a Blue Armchair, The Boating Party, and Children Playing on the Beach. The National Gallery of Art Washington displays The Boating Party.
She won many awards in her lifetime, including the French Legion of Honor (1904). Since her death, she has been inducted into the , and the United States Postal Service has featured her and her work on stamps. In a private collection, her work has sold for over $4 million.37. Mary Cazin
- Born: 1844, France
- Died: 1924, France
38. Mary Shepard Greene Blumenschein
- Born: 1869, New York City, USA
- Died: 1958, New York City
One of her most famous impressionist paintings is Le Regard Fugitif, a captivating portrait of a perhaps weary woman gazing at her face in the mirror.
39. Mina Carlson-Bredberg
- Born: 1857, Stockholm, Sweden
- Died: 1943, Stockholm
40. Nadežda Petrović
- Born: 1853, Cacak, Serbia
- Died: 1915, Valjevo, Serbia
41. Paula Modersohn-Becker
- Born: 1876, Dresden, Germany
- Died: 1907, Worpswede, Germany
42. Rosa Bonheur
- Born: 1822, Bordeaux, France
- Died: 1899, Fontainbleu, France
Her early work shows meticulous attention to detail and undeniable skill, which won her early notoriety. She exhibited at the Salon de Paris, winning awards in 1845 and 1848. In 1849, she produced her masterpiece, Plowing in Nivernais, and was commissioned by governments and royalty after that.
Art scholars note that her realism and naturalism helped normalize and even popularize everyday subjects for fine art, a hallmark of impressionism. She influenced countless future women artists and impressionists, including Marie Bracquemond, Lilla Cabot Perry, Mary Cassatt, and others. In 1865, the French monarch awarded her the Legion of Honor. She was a trailblazer not only with her art but also in her life, as she was openly lesbian.43. Virginie Demont-Breton
- Born: 1859, Courrieres, France
- Died: 1935, Paris
Demont-Breton was known for portraying women as uncharacteristically strong yet feminine. Some of the best examples of this include Fisherman’s Wife and Mother and Child in an Orange Grove.