MOVEMENT

Impressionist Figure

The body in light. Fleeting moments of domestic and leisure life.

Historical Context

French Impressionism transformed the figure from mythological ideal to contemporary subject. Degas captured dancers and bathers with radical cropping; Renoir bathed his figures in dappled light; Morisot brought intimacy to domestic scenes.

Defining Characteristics

  • Broken brushwork
  • Figures in natural light
  • Contemporary subject matter
  • Cropped, snapshot composition
  • Color over line

Reference Artists

  • Edgar Degas
  • Pierre-Auguste Renoir
  • Berthe Morisot
  • Mary Cassatt
  • Camille Pissarro

Works in this style

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