This handsome book conveys the full magnificence of the Impressionists - the brilliant colours of Rouen Cathedral captured by Monet, Manet’s once shocking nude in The Picnic, the many beautiful women painted by Renoir, Degas’ snapshot visions of ballet dancers on and off stage. The author traces the history of the movement and of the individual artists - their struggles against poverty and the hostility of the artístic establishment. He also describes how recognition eventually came, the way the artists influenced each other and how they differed in their personal and artistic aims.

Contents

SOCIAL AND ARTISTIC BACKGROUND
THE EARLY YEARS
THE FRANCO-PRUSSIAN WAR
IMPRESSIONISM IN THE 1870S
IMPRESSIONISM COMES OF AGE
POST-IMPRESSIONISM
THE LAST YEARS
THE IMPRESSIONIST HERITAGE
FURTHER READING
INDEX

Pages: 192

Orbis Publishing, London 1983