Impressionism

What is impressionism?

Impressionism is a movement that was concerned not with a faithful description of reality but with capturing light, the fleeting moment and atmosphere (hence the name, from the French impression). The impressionists rejected academic rules and the insistence on detail, and painted in short, rapid brushstrokes. They often worked outdoors, en plein air, to catch a particular mood before the light changed.

When and how did impressionism come about?

It was born in the last quarter of the nineteenth century in France. The movement took its name from Claude Monet's painting Impression, soleil levant (Impression, Sunrise). And was it plain sailing at first? Hardly — the impressionists were derided by the critics at first, yet today, especially abroad, they are among the most popular artists of all.

Who are the most important impressionists?

The key figure of the movement was Claude Monet, whose water lilies almost everyone knows today. Alongside him stand Edgar Degas with his dancers and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. In the Czech context, impressionist principles were carried into the domestic landscape above all by Antonín Slavíček and Václav Radimský.

What does Czech impressionism look like?

Impressionism appeared here mainly at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Compared with the French exuberance, Czech impressionism tends to be more lyrical and gentler, tuned to the moods of the domestic landscape. That is precisely why Czech collectors tend to have a particularly warm relationship with it.

How does impressionism do on the art market?

On the art market impressionism remains an enduring evergreen, one of the most expensive categories of all. Barely a year goes by without one of Monet's water lilies in the ranking of the most expensive sales. One geographical rule of thumb applies to it as well: French impressionists generally sell better in Paris. And on the Czech market? There, impressionism holds a stable price and is often a gateway for new collectors.

— Anna Pulkertová, founder of Art Part Club