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impressionism Definition

im·pres·sion·ism (im pres̸h′ən iz′əm)

noun

a theory and school of painting exemplified chiefly by Monet, Pissarro, and Sisley, but also by Manet, Renoir, etc., whose chief aim is to capture a momentary glimpse of a subject, esp. to reproduce the changing effects of light by applying paint to canvas in short strokes of pure color: the term has been extended to literature, as the fiction of Stephen Crane and Virginia Woolf and imagist poetry, and to music, as by Debussy and Ravel, which seeks to render impressions and moods by various characteristic devices

Etymology: < Fr impressionisme, coined (1874) by Louis Leroy, Fr art critic, in adverse reaction to a Monet painting entitled “Impression, sunrise”

Impressionism Usage Examples

Converse of subject

  • inspire: They brought with them a series of works directly inspired by French impressionism.

Converse of object

  • include: High quality satire, such as Peter Cook's famous impersonation of Harold Macmillan, includes impressionism, but is not reducible to it.
  • bring: Later in the century, the introduction of Impressionism brought about even more radical changes.

Adjective modifier

  • French: They brought with them a series of works directly inspired by French impressionism.
  • late: Inside, elderly men with tartan trousers usher you toward a wide selection of major artworks from early Renaissance to late Impressionism.
  • abstract: About the Artist Original artwork produced by Canadian artist, primarily abstract impressionism.

Noun used with modifier

  • term: The term impressionism came from a painting by Claude Monet.