The Impressionists at first hand
(Book)

Previous edition: 1987.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

The Impressionists -- Monet, Manet, Degas, Pissaro, Cassatt, Renoir, Morisot, Cézanne, and others -- are probably the most popular of all artistic schools. Their struggle to impose a new vision is one of the most absorbing in the whole history of art. Art historian Bernard Denvir brings Impressionism into focus with imagination and insight, through the words of the artists themselves and their contemporaries, against the background of their time. Through letters, critical reviews, interviews, and reminiscences -- whether explosive or appreciative, blinkered or perceptive -- of the people who were there, Impressionism comes alive. This was the age of innovation, political liberalization, emergent photography, and changing ideas about perception. The Impressionists had new was of painting, but they also had a new world to paint. This new edition now features full color reproductions of artworks throughout and an updated bibliography.