impressionism
- Fine Arts.
- (usually initial capital letter)a style of painting developed in the last third of the 19th century, characterized chiefly by short brush strokes of bright colors in immediate juxtaposition to represent the effect of light on objects.
- a manner of painting in which the forms, colors, or tones of an object are lightly and rapidly indicated.
- a manner of sculpture in which volumes are partially modeled and surfaces roughened to reflect light unevenly.
- a theory and practice in literature that emphasizes immediate aspects of objects or actions without attention to details.
- a late-19th-century and early-20th-century style of musical composition in which lush harmonies, subtle rhythms, and unusual tonal colors are used to evoke moods and impressions.
Origin of impressionism
Examples from the Web for impressionism
Historical Examples
His impressionism of phrase went really deeper than the surface.
Notes on Life and LettersJoseph Conrad
Which is to say that he will probably be a convert to Mr Hueffer's impressionism.
Studies of Contemporary PoetsMary C. Sturgeon
Impressionism is Realism widened by the study of the milieu.
The History of Modern Painting, Volume 3 (of 4)Richard Muther
French masterpieces Impressionism and the rest of it did not interest him to-night.
PeterF. Hopkinson Smith
In the early years of independence, the simplicity of National Revival art gave way to an academic style and to impressionism.
Area Handbook for BulgariaEugene K. Keefe, Violeta D. Baluyut, William Giloane, Anne K. Long, James M. Moore, and Neda A. Walpole
impressionism
- (often capital) a movement in French painting, developed in the 1870s chiefly by Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, and Sisley, having the aim of objectively recording experience by a system of fleeting impressions, esp of natural light effects
- the technique in art, literature, or music of conveying experience by capturing fleeting impressions of reality or of mood
Word Origin and History for impressionism
n.
1839 as a term in philosophy, from impression + -ism. Specifically with reference to the French art movement from 1882, from impressionist.
impressionism
A style of painting associated mainly with French artists of the late nineteenth century, such as Edgar Degas, Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Impressionist painting seeks to re-create the artist's or viewer's general impression of a scene. It is characterized by indistinct outlines and by small brushstrokes of different colors, which the eye blends at a distance. Soft, pastel colors appear frequently in impressionist paintings.