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Impressionism

Painters in 1870s Paris who worked quickly, often outdoors, to catch light as it changed.

53 works · hang 5503 ·

The rooms are imagined; every work on their walls is real.

Walk this roomRehang this room

First room, north wall

  1. We look up at the exterior of a church that soars the height of this vertical painting. The church is painted with visible dabs and strokes of azure blue, peach, lavender purple, and camel brown to create a blurred look, as if seeing a reflection in the rippling surface of a puddle. The church façade is angled to our left, away from us. The main door and its surround takes up the center of the composition, where a rectangular door is set within nested, pointed arches that lead up to a narrow, tall, triangular gable. The point of that gable overlaps the round, dark rose window, which is the same width as the portal surround below. Spires flank the central section and rise precipitously off the top edge of the painting. The sky above is painted with daubs of white and pale blue. The artist signed and dated the lower left, “Claude Monet 94.”
    Rouen Cathedral, West FaçadeClaude Monet, 1894Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. Impressionist painting of two girls on balcony, bright flower hat, knitting basket.
    Two Sisters (On the Terrace)Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1881Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. A work made of oil on canvas.
    Mill of Pont MaupuitJean Baptiste Armand Guillaumin, c. 1900Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

First room, south wall

  1. Painted portrait dominated by loose, large brushstrokes of a woman, seen from the back, wearing a gauzy white off-the-shoulder dress and black choker, blond hair swept up, examining herself in a mirror at left. The background is a feathered swirl suggesting floral pattern in cool pale tones of gray, purple, pink, and blue.
    Woman at Her ToiletteBerthe Morisot, 1875–80Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. Dancers, by Edgar Degas, c. 1896
    DancersEdgar Degas, c. 1896Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. Self-Portrait, by Edgar Degas, 1857
    Self-PortraitEdgar Degas, 1857Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  4. Painting composed of short, dense brushstrokes depicts two domed stacks of wheat that cast long shadows on a field. The angled light indicates either a rising or setting sun.
    Stacks of Wheat (End of Summer)Claude Monet, 1890–91Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Second room, south wall

  1. Romaine Lacaux, by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1864
    Romaine LacauxPierre-Auguste Renoir, 1864Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. Impressionist painting of seated man, girl with brown, black hues.
    Henri Degas and His Niece Lucie Degas (The Artist's Uncle and Cousin)Edgar Degas, 1875–76Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. In the Omnibus, by Mary Cassatt, 1890–91
    In the OmnibusMary Cassatt, 1890–91Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Second room, north wall

  1. Two girls in acrobatic uniforms stand in an arena, one holds oranges.
    Acrobats at the Cirque Fernando (Francisca and Angelina Wartenberg)Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1879Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. Three light-skinned, dark-haired ballerinas, painted in muted tones, wear off-the-shoulder yellow leotards and tutus as they huddle near each other. One adjusts her costume, while one holds her hands clasped above her head. At left is a painted screen with four pairs of feet visible underneath.
    Yellow Dancers (In the Wings)Edgar Degas, 1874–76Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  3. After the Bath, by Mary Cassatt, 1901
    After the BathMary Cassatt, 1901Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Third room, north wall

  1. Painting of a beach on a cloudy day with several sailboats on the water, a few rowboats on the shore, and two groupings of people on the sand.
    The Beach at Sainte-AdresseClaude Monet, 1867Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. Shown from the knees up, a young girl with pale skin, wearing a coral-peach dress, sits facing and looking at us in this loosely painted, vertical portrait. Her knees are angled slightly to our left, and her hands rest in her lap. She has a round face and smooth, lightly flushed cheeks. She has brown eyes under arched brows, a delicate, snub nose, and her rose-pink lips are closed. Her hair, which is painted with broad strokes of caramel brown and moss green, is parted on one side and pulled smoothly back, presumably tied behind her head. Tendrils fall over her shoulders. Her dress is gathered around her neck and tied with a bow at the back. The loose sleeves fall to just below her elbows, and the dress is belted around the waist. A curving swipe of canary-yellow paint could be a buckle at the front. The fabric of the dress is painted with long, visible strokes of shell and rose pink, butter yellow, and ivory white, and a few touches of sage green and periwinkle blue for shadows. She wears a ring on the middle finger of her right hand. The space around her is loosely painted with strokes of electric and cobalt blue, with unpainted canvas visible at some of the edges. To our left, over the girl's shoulder, a wooden bird cage holds an emerald-green parakeet. The bird is streaked with royal blue along its back, and the area around its hooked beak is apple red. The cage has a mint-green bow and ribbon along the top. The artist signed the painting in green on the lower right corner: “Berthe Morisot.”
    The Artist's Daughter with a ParakeetBerthe Morisot, 1890Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. The Daughters of Catulle Mendès, Huguette (1871–1964), Claudine (1876–1937), and Helyonne (1879–1955), by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1888
    The Daughters of Catulle Mendès, Huguette (1871–1964), Claudine (1876–1937), and Helyonne (1879–1955)Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1888Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art