National Gallery of Art - THE COLLECTION

Tour: The Beginnings of Impressionist Landscape

Overview | Start Tour

image of Bathing Time at Deauville image of Beach Scene at Trouville image of Beach near Etretat
1 2 3
image of Flood at Port-Marly image of Boulevard Héloïse, Argenteuil image of Orchard in Bloom, Louveciennes
4 5 6
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Overview

In 1841 an American artist invented collapsible metal tubes for oil paints. For impressionists, who often painted out-of-doors, this new convenience was indispensable. About the same time, railway expansion was making the countryside more accessible: new lines connected Paris with Normandy and with towns along the Seine that became home and subject for many impressionist painters. Our strongest image of these artists is out-of-doors, hats shading their eyes, easels alongside a riverbank as they transcribed fleeting effects of light and atmosphere on the landscape. (continue)


Captions

1.
1Eugène Boudin, Bathing Time at Deauville, 1865
2Eugène Boudin, Beach Scene at Trouville, 1863
3Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Beach near Etretat, c. 1872
4Alfred Sisley, Flood at Port-Marly, 1872
5Alfred Sisley, Boulevard Héloïse, Argenteuil, 1872
6Camille Pissarro, Orchard in Bloom, Louveciennes, 1872
2.
7Camille Pissarro, The Fence, 1872