This remarkable book, now a classic in its field, has transformed the way we look at Impressionist art. The culmination of twenty years of research by preeminent scholar Robert L. Herbert, Impressionism fundamentally revised the conventional view of this famous artistic movement and shows how it was fully integrated into the social and cultural life of the times.

The author explores the themes of leisure and entertainment that dominated the great years of Impressionist painting between 1865 and 1885. Cafes, opera houses, dance halls, theaters, racetracks, and vacations by the sea were the central subjects of the majority of these paintings, and Herbert relates these pursuits to the transformation of Paris under the Second Empire. This book presents provocative new interpretations of a wide range of famous masterpieces. Artists are seen to be active participants in, as well as objective witnesses to, contemporary life, and there are many profound insights into the social and cultural upheaval of the times.

*This eBook is available exclusively on the A&AePortal.*

Author

PublisherYale University Press

Print publication date September 1988 (in print)

Print ISBN 9780300042627

EISBN 9780300233964

Illustrations 311 illus.

Print Status in print

Publisher (in print)

WorldCat

Google Books

Base text size -

Chapter images ()