The Birth of Impressionism.

 In the 1860's several artist became the founders of a new style of painting, these artist were Claude Monet, Eduard Manet, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. This style of painting called "Impressionism" would later go on to produce the single most expensive painting ever sold, "The Scream". Impressionism is defined as "A literary or artistic style that seeks to capture a feeling or experience rather than to achieve accurate depiction", or "A style or movement in painting originating in France in the 1860's, characterized by a concern with depicting the visual impression of the moment, esp. in terms of  the shifting effect of light and color". Impressionism has become a gateway for practically anyone to become an artist.


   For all of the 1860's the new style of painting currently known as "impressionism" was nameless, that is until the early 1870's when Louis Leroy criticised one of Monet's paintings name "Impression, Sunrise". Leroy claimed that the painting was not an actual painting, but rather , as the name implies it was simply an 'impression' of a painting. So it was intended as an insult when Leroy name this style of painting in particular as "impressionism". Despite this insult to Claude Monet and his newly developed painting style , Monet and others like him propelled impressionism to amazing heights. Since it's creation in France during the 1860's, impressionism has spread all throughout the world and many painters both old and young are using this style of painting today.

   understanding exactly why impressionism has become as popular as it has is nearly impossible, as each person who is a fan of this style of painting will give you a different reason as to why they can relate. Recently, a science study on the effects that paintings have on human consciousness concluded that some paintings can be likened to "brain hacking". Patrick Canavagh stated that "The crude brush strokes delay our conscious response and engage the brain's emotional center's". So in short, Claude Monet's art will resonate with your emotions before you can even get a chance to think. It's almost like love at first site...