1. EUROPE AND AMERICA 1870-1900

2. The French Impressionists
April 15, 1874, the first of eight
exhibitions for a group of artists
opened in Paris at 35 Boulevard
des Capucines. It was in vacated
rooms of the photographer,
Nadar. The artists that exhibited
in the show were called „rebels‟,
„intransigents‟, „the Japanese
painters‟ and „the actualists‟. The
exhibiting artists were rejected by
the Salon Juries. They formed a
Cooperative Society of Artist–
Painters. Thirty artists showed
their work at that time. Among
those were Claude Monet,
Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas,
Paul Cezanne, Berthe Morisot,
and Pissarro.1
1Pierre Courthion, The Impressionists, p. 3.

3. THE ACADEMY
Up to this time the arts were in a type of control by the Academy that was taught at the E´cole des Beaux-
Arts. It „asserted the choice of the laureates of competitions and the Salon jury‟.2
Painters, the Salon, and Critics, 1848-1870http://www.musee-
orsay.fr/fileadmin/mediatheque/integration_MO/PDF/Paintersenglish.pdf

4. The following is a brief overview of the
requirements that the painters needed to
meet for the Academy:
•“Respect the „hierarchy of genres” (which was
History Painting with religious, mythological or
historical subjects, then came scenes of
everyday life, portraits, then landscapes and the
least was still-lifes. The most important would
be displayed in large formats and the least
important would be in the small format style.
•“Support the prevalence of drawing over
colour”
•“Prefer the workshop to the open air”
•“Make „finished‟ pieces”
•“Imitate the elders, imitate nature”3
3IBIDhttp://www.musee-
orsay.fr/fileadmin/mediatheque/integration_MO/PDF/Paintersenglish.pdf

5. When Louis Leroy saw Claude
Monet‟s painting, “Impression,
Sunrise”, he remarked : „What is this
canvas trying to say?‟
„Impression, Sunrise‟,
„Impression—I was certain of it. I
kept telling myself that since I was
impressed there had to be some
impression in it. What freedom, what
ease of workmanship. Wallpaper in
its embryonic state is more finished
than that painting.‟4
4Courthion, Pierre, The Impressionists, pp. 3-4.

6. “Another critic of the period instructed those who would
paint in the new school: „Mix three quarts of black and
white on canvas, rub yellow all over, add a few touches
of red and blue at random, and there you have it. An
Impression of springtime‟ ”.5
5Pierre Courthion, The Impressionists, p.4.

7. In “The Impressionists”, by Courthion Pierre, it describes the progression of artists‟
contributions that eventually resulted in the arrival of the Impressionists. Claude Lorrain (in
the late 17th century), was the first to paint light at different hours of the day. He also studied
the effects of light on water. Delacroix used color “filled with the fever of desire”. Turner used
„torrents of light and color‟. Manet used sunlight and clarity to “reflect [his] own life and
time.” 6
6Pierre Courthion, The Impressionists, p. 4.

8. The Impressionists were branded
socialists, anarchists and dangerous
revolutionaries. They were deeply
misunderstood. With difficulty, Roger
Marx managed to include them in the
Universal Exposition (World‟s Fair) of
1900. When President Loubet arrived at
the hall he was greeted by Gerome, who
barred his entrance, exclaiming, „Don‟t go
in, Mr. President, for there stands the
dishonor of France.‟ To this mediocre
painter, “Manet was a scribbler, Monet a
fraud [and] Renoir, Pissarro, Sisley,…were
actual criminals who were corrupting
influences on a generation of young
artists.”7
7Courthion, Pierre, The Impressionists, p. 6.

9. “But the tide was turning. At the same time Andre
Perate gave Impressionism excellent reviews: „To
fragment rays of light, to seize the very palpitations of
the air, to follow its flow around the object and to
envelope it in color; here is the enterprise of
Impressionism.‟ ”8
7Courthion, Pierre, The Impressionists, p. 6.

10. Claude Monet 1840 – 1926
Monet, Water Lilies, 1916-1919
Oil on Canvas, Musée Marmottan

11. Auguste Renoir
Dance at the Moulin de la Galette
1876, oil on canvas
Musée d'Orsay
Auguste Renoir
1841 – 1919
Self Portrait

12. Edgar Degas Edgar Degas, French, 1834-1917
Self Portrait (Silver Print) The Rehearsal Onstage,1874?
1895 Pastel over brush-and-ink drawing

13. Berthe Morisot
1841 – 1895
Morisot, Berthe, 1841-1895
In the Dining Room,1886,
oil on canvas
National Gallery of Art

14. Edouard Manet, Olympia, 1863-1865, oil on canvas,
130.5 x 190 cm
Musée d'Orsay

15. AMERICAN ART 1870 – 1900

16. American Art during
1860 to 1900
During these years, Europe had a great
influence on American Art. The major
American Artists traveled to Europe
and absorbed the knowledge they could
attain there. Paris became the most
important art center. With the influence
of European Art in America, other
positive events occurred. Museums and
art schools opened in American,
including, the Metropolitan Museum of
Art in New York City (1870), the
Massachusetts School of Art in Boston
(1873), The Rhode Island School of
Design in Providence (1877). Thirty-
nine art schools were in operation in
1882. Other specialized groups also
immerged such as the American Society
of Painter in Water Color (1866) and
the Society of American Etchers in
1880.8
8Matthew Baigell, A Concise History of American Painting and Sculpture, pp. 122-123

17. The American Painters colors in their
paintings became lighter and more
colorful during 1870s. Americans, for
the most part were wary of
Impressionism when it first began.
Impressionism in America was
different than in Europe, as it was a
“decorative mode rather than a
technique to explore color
relationships” 9
9Ibid. p. 124.

18. Another movement also arrived in America called the American
Renaisance. In Wayne Craven‟s book, American Art, History and
Culture, he talks about the American Renaissance in art and
Architecture as being “…a spirit that was…more associated with
European culture, particularly that of the Renaissance and
Baroque periods. American millionaires saw themselves as the
modernday counterparts of European aristocracy, and wished to
live in homes that resembled sixteenth-century palaces of Italian
princes or seventeenth-century chateaux of French nobility.”10
10Wayne Craven, American Art, History and Culture, Boston.

19. Some of the American
artists at this time either
lived abroad for a number
of years or were influenced
by their visits there. Mary
Cassatt, born in Pittsburgh,
was taken to Europe while
still a child. When going
back to Pennsylvania, she
studied art at the
Pennsylvania Academy and
in 1866 she returned to
Paris and made it her
home. She was considered
the only American Artist in
Europe to become a
member of the European
„Impressionists‟.11
11Wayne Craven, American Art, History and Culture, Boston, p.347.

20. George Inness started his style of
painting in the Hudson River School (a
school in New York). After a trip to
France in 1853, he was influenced by
the Barbizon painters and began using
the loose brushwork and softness in
this style.12
12Wayne Craven, American Art, History and Culture, Boston, p.332.

21. James Abbott McNeill Whistler
was born an American but
taken to Russia by his family
where his father worked as a
railroad engineer. He later
settled in Paris and was
influenced by Gustave Courbet
and Edouard Manet.13
13Ibid. P.342.

22. Winslow Homer went to France and learned
about the works of Courbet and Manet also.
Their work was based on observation of nature
with light on them. Homer became interested in
painting subjects of women engaged in casual
social activities, with effects of light upon the
color and form. One of his favorite subjects was
painting boys life styles of working, playing and
leisure. 14
14Ibid. p. 335.

23. Tomas Eakins art changed after
studying in Europe also. He traveled to
Spain and was influenced by the 16th
and 17th century Baroque painters
Diego de Velazaquez and Jusepe de
Rivera. In Paris he was tutored by Leon
Bonnat . By the time Eakins returned to
America, he had brought with him his
new themes in his paintings of outdoor
activities such as rowing and sailing.15
13Ibid. P. 339.

24. John Singer Sargent was born in
Florence Italy. 16
16Ibid. P. 345.

25. Some of the American Painters were interested
in Japanese art. These painters began using the
bright, arbitrary Japanese print colors, patterns
and contours with simplified detail and loss of
depth. Homer, La Farge, Whistler and Mary
Cassatt were among these painters.17 Mary Cassatt
had a collection of Japanese prints by Hokusai,
Hiroshige, and Utamaro.18
17Matthew Baigell, A Concise History of American Painting and Sculpture, p. 126,
18Wayne Craven, American Art, History and Culture, Boston, p.347

26. American Artists such as Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Moran provided vital information
about the western landscapes for the Eastern seaboard and which later contributed to
the conservation movement and the creation of the National Park System.19
19Ibid.p.126.

27. Two types of still life
paintings became
popular. One was the
flower paintings and
the other objects.
In the object category, was a type of
„ultra-realistic‟ object painting called,
trompe l‟oeil. William Michael Harnett
was one of the most noted American to
paint in the trompe l‟ oeil style.20
20ibid. p. 177.

28. Morse, Samuel Finley Breese, Exhibition gallery of the Louvre, 1833,
Syracuse University. Art Collections.
•Albert Bierstadt, American, Solingen 1830-1902 New
York City, Sunrise on the Matterhorn, Paint, after 1875,
Oil on canvas, 58 1/2 x 42 5/8 in. (148.6 x 108.3 cm),The
Metropolitan Museum of Art.
•Mary Stevenson Cassatt, 1844-1926,
The Bath, Prints, 1890-1899, Drypoint, softground etching and aquatint
in color, 32.1 x 24.8 cm (12 5/8 x 9 3/4 in.), Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston
•Mary Cassatt, North American; American, 1845 - 1926, (artist),
The Lamp, Prints, 1890-1891, drypoint, etching and aquatint, ARTstor
Collection, The Cleveland Museum of Art Collection
Cassatt, Mary, 1844-1926, Portrait of Cassatt (by Degas),
c.1880-84, ARTstor Slide Gallery
Mary Cassatt (1844-1926), Mother Holding Her Child in Her Arms,
Painting, c. 1890, oil on canvas, Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts,
Moscow, Russia
Mary Cassatt, The Child‟s Bath, painting, 1893, oil on canvas, Art
Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
Paul Cézanne, Castle and Village of Medan, painting, c. 1885,
Art Focus (Zurich, Switzerland)
Paul Cézanne, Mont Sainte-Victoire, painting, c. 1897,
Baltimore Museum of Art

29. Gustave Caillebotte, A Paris Street, Rain, c. 1877, Art Institute of
Chicago.
Edgar Degas, Two Dancers Resting (Two Dancers in Blue, 1898,
Musée d‟Orsay.
Edgar Degas, Dancers On Stage, Pastel and gouache on paper, 1879,
Fundacion Coleccion Thyssen-Bornemisza .
Edgar Degas, The Rehersal On Stage, 1874?, The Metropolitan
Museum of Art.
Eugene Delacroix, Tiger Hunt, 1854, Musée Orsay.
Thomas Eakins, Starting Out After Rail, 1874 Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston.
Thomas Eakins, The Champion Single Sculls, 1871, The Metropolitan
Museum of Art .
Susan MacDowell Eakins, Portrait of Thomas Eakins, 1920-25,
Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Thomas Gainsborough, Mrs. Charles Tudway, 1760-1765, Baltimore
Museum of Art
William Michael Harnett, Still Life-Violin and Music, 1888, The
Metropolitan Museum of Art.
George Inness, The Mill Stream, about 1888, The Montclair Art
Museum
George Inness, Delaware Water Gap, 1861, The Metropolitan Museum
of Art.
George Inness, Orange Road, Tarpon Springs, about 1893, The
Indianapolis Museum of Art.

30. Katsushika Hokusai, The Great Wave at Kanagawa (from a Series of
Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji), Edo period (1615-18Edo period (1615-
1868), ca. 1830-3268), ca. 1830-32, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Toyohara Kunichika, Japanese, Album of Thirty-Two Triptychs of
Polychrome Woodblock Prints by Various Artists; Ichikawa Sadanji in
Keian Taiheiki, Meiji period (1868-1912), ca. 1883-86. The
Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Japanese, Princess Yaegaki, 19th century, The
Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Claude Lorrain, Seaport at Sunset, c. 1639, Musée du Louvre.
Éduard Manet, A Bar at the Folies-Bergere, c. 1881-1882, Courtauld
Institute of Art, London, England, United Kingdom
Éduard Manet, Olympia, c. 1863-1865, Musée d'Orsay.
Moran, Thomas, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone river, c. 1893-1901,
National Collection of Fine Arts (U.S.).
Berthe Morisot, Self Portrai, 1885, ARTstor Slide Gallery.
Berthe Morisot, In the Dining Room, 1886, National Gallery of Art (U.S.) .
Claude Monet, 1840 -1926, Poplars on the Bank of the Epte River,
painting, c. 1891, Oil on canvas, 39 ½ x 25 11/16 inches
Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Claude Monet, 1840 -1926, Waterlilies, painting, c. 1906, 28 x 36,
Ohara Bijutsukan.
Claude Monet, 1840 -1926, Waterlilies, painting, c. 1906, 28 x 36,
Ohara Bijutsukan.

31. Claude Monet, 1840 -1926, Waterlilies, painting, c. 1906, 28 x 36,
Ohara Bijutsukan.
Claude Monet, 1840 -1926, Waterlilies, painting, c. 1907, Art Stor Slide
Gallery
Claude Monet, 1840 -1926, Impression, Sunrise, c. 1872, 48 x 63 cm,
Musée Marmottan, Paris.
Claude Monet, 1840 -1926, Waterlilies at Giverny, painting, c. 1918,
194 x 100 cm, Private Collection, Switzerland.
Claude Monet, 1840 -1926, Nympheas (Waterlilies), painting, c. 1903,
73 x 92, Musée Marmottan
Claude Monet, 1840 -1926, Waterlilies, painting, c. 1916-1919, 150 x
200, Musée Marmottan.
Auguste Renoir, Dance at the Moulin de la Galette, c. 1876, Musée
d'Orsay.
Auguste Renoir, Two Sisters (On the Terrace), c. 1881, Art Institute of
Chicago.
Auguste Renoir, Self-Portrait,
1897, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute.
Sargent, John Singer, Resting, ca. 1875., Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute.
Sargent, John Singer, Self Portrait, ca. 1886., The Detroit Institute of Arts.
Sargent, John Singer, Acheson Sisters, ca. 1902., ARTstor Slide Gallery.

32. Sargent, John Singer, The Wyndham Sisters: Lady Elcho, Mrs. Adeane,
and Mrs. Tennant, 1899., The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Joseph Mallord William Turner, European; British, 1775 - 1851, (artist),
The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons, October 16, 1834,
ca. 1835, The Cleveland Museum of Art.
Whistler, James McNeill, Self-Portrait, c.1900,
ARTstor Slide Gallery
Whistler, James McNeill, Nocturne in Black and Gold, the Falling Rocket, c. 1875,
Detroit Institute of Arts.
Whistler, James McNeill, Arrangement in Gray and Black No. 1 (Whistler's Mother), c. 1871,
Musée d'Orsay.
Homer, Winslow, Photograph by Sarony New York, c.1880, ARTstor Slide Gallery.
Homer, Winslow, The Herring Net, 1885, Art Institute of Chicago.
Exposition, 35 Boulevard des Capucines, Catalog, http://cdn2.all-
art.org/impressioniswm_chronicle/86a.jpg

33. Bibliography
Baigell, Matthew, A Concise History of American Painting and Sculpture, Revised Edition, Icon Editions
an imprint of Harper and Row Publishers, c.1984.
Courthion, Pierre, The Impressionists.
Wayne Craven, American Art, History and Culture, Boston, c.2003.
Painters, the Salon, and Critics, 1848-1870http://www.musee-
orsay.fr/fileadmin/mediatheque/integration_MO/PDF/Paintersenglish.pdf