French Impressionists
 

Impressionism exhibited a new style of painting that ignored details, revealed brushstrokes, and placed unblended colors side by side.  Each of the following artists made an impact on the Impressionist Movement.
 

                                    Edgar Degas

Edgar Degas was considered the master of movement in his artwork.  His paintings of female ballet dancers dominated his subjects.  He also had various artworks consisting of race horses.  Most of his art also broke tradition and exhibited ordinary people in everyday life.  One example was the image of the backs of women taking baths.  Many people think The Dance Class is his best work of art concerning his ballerinas.
 

Many works of Edgar Degas can be seen at the following site, Metropolitan Museum.
 
 

                                                   Mary Cassatt

Mary Cassatt is a famous Impressionist. She is well known for her paintings of women and children.  She was the first woman to exhibit with the Impressionists.  Among the Impressionists, she particularly admired Degas.  She made a significant contribution to the history of Impressionism.  Cassatt used different mediums in her work including pastels, drypoint, etching, and water colors. Below is a sample of her work which is oil on canvas, Girl Arranging Her Hair.
 
 

Many of Mary Cassatt's paintings can be seen at the following site, Artchive.
 

                                   Georges Seurat

Georges Seurat is the nineteenth century artist known for his creation of pointillism and for his impact on Neo Impressionism.  This movement takes the colors and themes of Impressionism and approaches it systematically.  The fundamental aspects of color and vision are broken down creating a new type of Impressionism.  One of the best examples of this is Seurat's creation of pointillism.  Pointillism is portraying the play of light using tiny brush strokes of contrasting colors.  His most famous work is Sunday Afternoon on the Islandof La Grande Jatte which is an oil painting in which he demonstates this particular technique.  This painting can also be seen in Ferris Bueller's Day Off when Cameron has a realization of the individual dots which comprise the painting.
 
 

Many of Georges Seurat's painting can be seen at the following site, Artchive