IMPRESSIONISM

Impressionism can be considered the first distinctly modern movement in painting. It started/developed in Paris in the 1860s and its influence spread throughout Europe and finally the United States. Its originators were artists who rejected the official exhibitions. The impressionists aimed to capture the momentary, sensory effect of a scene - the impression objects made on the eye in a fleeting instant. To achieve this effect, many Impressionist artists moved from the studio to the streets and countryside.