A 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists. Their independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s, in spite of harsh opposition from the conventional art community in France.

The name of the style derives from the title of a Monet work, Impression, soleil levant (Impression, Sunrise). Impressionist painting characteristics include relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time), common, ordinary subject matter, inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience, and unusual visual angles.

Other significant Impressionists include Bazille, Sisley, Manet (who did not participate in any of the Impressionist exhibitions), Degas (who despised the term), Cézanne (although he later broke away from the movement), Pissarro and Renoir.