Impressionist Art

In the late 1800s, photography began to dominate the art world. As artists tried to compete with the new industry, Impressionist art began to emerge. The few traits paintings could offer that photographs could not were color and a less distinct image. In fact, by creating a less defined picture, these artists were honed the name Impressionist, because their final product looked more like a sketch, or impression.
Impressionist artists were very influenced by realists, but they actually transformed the realist genre into Impressionism, changing the significance of an art piece. Reality was not what the artist saw, but the interpretation of what they saw. The subjective became the objective of the art piece. This movement began in France, and many famous Impressionist artists’ roots are there. Such artists include the very well known Claude Monet and Edouard Manet. Claude Monet was one of the rebels who began the Impressionist movement, alongside Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley and Frederic Bazille. These artists were bored with the traditional way of painting, so they experimented with brush strokes, developing Impressionism. This art movement was not accepted by the community, whatsoever. Newspapers, critics, and citizens mocked these painters and their works for years. It was not until 20 years later that Impressionist art was finally distinguished as a separate art form and respected.
The stamina of these artists, not only in France, but around Europe supported the next aspiring art genres to come. The changes they made in the art world not only revolutionized their own time period, but also generations after.