Impression, sunrise 1872

The artistic movement Impressionism owes its name to this influential work by Claude Monet (1840-1926). Impression, Sunrise was first shown in 1874 at an independent exhibition organized by a group of artists including Monet, Renoir, and Degas. The show served as an alternative to the traditional, state-run Salon, allowing artists to work in radically new ways. In a review of the exhibition, the critic Louis Leroy condemned Impression, Sunrise, arguing that it was nothing more than a sketch and, in a negative context, titled the show "The Exhibition of the Impressionists," a term that the group proudly adopted. Leroy's response is understandable: Monet's painting broke many artistic conventions. The artist's work does indeed have a sketchlike quality, due to his loose, broken brushwork that does not define what it represents. This technique is largely the result of the Impressionist desire to capture the fleeting moment en plein air. Impression, Sunrise was not executed in a studio but from a window overlooking the harbor of Le Havre from which Monet painted the modern city awakening at dawn, requiring quick brushstrokes before the view changed. Conversely, Impression, Sunrise is also a calculated work that shows an interest in color theory. While the sun appears to pierce the morning mist because of its intense orange color, in reality it has the same luminance as its surroundings. In a black-and-white photograph, the sun is almost indistinguishable, an effect that Monet did not achieve by accident.