150 Years of Impressionism in France

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150 Years of Impressionism in France

2024 is the 150^th Anniversary of Impressionism, a revolutionary art movement that changed how we see the world.

To celebrate, France is pulling out all the stops with special events, unique activities and blockbuster art shows.

Two core destinations are the Paris Region and Normandy, so why not join the visual feast?

Ready to Celebrate

As a major fan of Impressionism with a Masters in Visual Art, I leapt at the chance to preview some of the festivities.

Of course there’s no need to wait for an anniversary to celebrate Impressionism – France is a bursting fragrant field of art. On the other hand, there’s no time like the present.

An Anniversary to Remember

There are so many events going on it’s as dizzying as a whirl of Renoir dancers at Moulin de la Galette. To make it easy, here’s how to start.

1. Begin at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris

If you’re going to see one thing, make it Paris 1874. Inventing Impressionism, an illuminating exhibition at the historic Musée d’Orsay.

Open until July 14, 2024, and then moving to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, Paris 1874. Inventing Impressionism resurrects the spirit of the original Impressionist exhibition.

The original, which opened in 1874, was held in a former photography studio at 35 Boulevard des Capucines.

The First Impressionist Exhibition

Organized by the artists themselves, who had formed a loose collective, the show consisted of 31 artists displaying 165 works.

Impressionism – though the name hadn’t been coined yet – was a new way of making art.

It was a rebellion against the grand themes and polished style preferred by the all-mighty Royal Academy, which held a prestigious Salon exhibition each year.

Some of artists in the original Impressionism show would go on to be superstars. Think Monet, Renoir, Degas, Sisley, Morisot, Pissarro and Cézanne. Others have been quite forgotten.

Read more about the Top 5 Impressionist Museums in Paris

The Musée d’Orsay – An Eye Opening Show

What I discovered at the Orsay exhibition is that Impressionism wasn’t a cohesive movement that sprung, fully formed, from the white chalk cliffs of Etretat.

In fact the first exhibition was a bit of a hodgepodge.

Cézanne was in it (though nobody wanted him there except Pissarro) while Manet refused to participate at all as he was hoping to make a success of it at the Salon.

In the end the Salon accepted only one of Manet’s paintings that year, and critics panned it anyway.

(And yes, I know Manet is more of a Pre-Impressionist than an Impressionist but he was friends with them anyway. Like Gustave Caillebotte, a later addition to the avant-garde art scene, he crosses boundaries in many ways.)

Art Tip: It’s easy to get Édouard Manet and Claude Monet mixed up.

Manet is considered the father of modern art, and sits somewhere between Realism and Impressionism. He was eight years older than Monet, and was a big influence on the Impressionists.

The Original Impressionist Show – A Critical Failure

When the Impressionist show opened on April 15, 1874, critics were horrified.

On seeing Claude Monet’s painting called Impression, sunrise, a hazy vision of the port at La Havre with a splotch of an orange sun cutting through the smog, art critic Louis Leroy wrote dismissively, “Impression … Wallpaper in its embryonic state is more finished than that seascape!”

And that’s how Impressionism got its name.

(Good thing too, as the artists’ original name was the Cooperative and Anonymous Association of Painters, Sculptors, and Engravers, which doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.)

Why Was Impressionist Art Scandalous?

This new direction in art was unsettling. The artists were intent on capturing light, a moment, a transient everyday scene.

Not for them the grand mythological, religious or historical themes preferred by the powerful Academy.

The Impressionists painted outside, used slapdash brush strokes and squeezed out pure pigment straight from the tube (tubes having been a recent innovation). The paintings, to many, didn’t even look finished.

The Salon Versus the Impressionists

You can get a taste of the divide between the Salon work and Impressionist paintings at the Musée d’Orsay show as it includes some salon-selected works as well.

If you want more than a taste – more like a full-on body rush – get a ticket for the Musée d’Orsay’s accompanying virtual reality experience, Tonight with the Impressionists.

2. Get Tickets for Tonight with the Impressionists

The virtual reality (VR) experience at the Musée d’Orsay is a smashing romp through the world of 1874.

Suddenly you’re transported into the artists’ world, caught up in the furor and excitement as you shuffle, turn, (and occasionally levitate) between artist studios, Paris streets and sunlit Impressionist hangouts like La Grenouillère on the Seine.

For highbrows who think mixing virtual reality with historical art is too ‘Disney meets Degas,’ I have to say it’s also educational, bringing the times into context.

Superbly high tech (and two years in the making), it’s one of the most entertaining things I did on my tour of 150th Anniversary celebrations.

Tonight with the Impressionists runs until August 11th, 2024.

3. Head to the Normandy Impressionist Festival

To really dig into the 150th Anniversary, aim for Normandy.

A varied region northwest of Paris, with 350 miles of eye-candy coastline, Normandy is known as the birthplace of Impressionism.

It’s here, in the city of Le Havre, Monet painted Impression, sunrise, and the creamy white cliffs of its Alabaster Coast were catnip for artists like Eugène Boudin (Monet’s mentor), Monet, Pissarro, and Sisley.

150 Festival Events

In honour of the anniversary, the not-so-annual Normandy Impressionist Festival is going all out.

There will be an eye-popping 150 events over six months that blur the line between the revolutionary nature of Impressionism then and the innovations of artists today.

You’ll find art, music and festival activities all over the region – you can even try an afternoon painting workshop on the Alabaster Coast.

The city of Rouen is a prime place to start your explorations.

4. Catch the Cathedral in Light at Notre Dame Cathedral in Rouen

A Gothic beauty, the Notre Dame Cathedral of Rouen so bewitched Monet with the changing light on its façade he painted it 30 times, and if you’re in the city, visiting Rouen Cathedral is a must.

I wonder what Monet would think of a starry light show on its ancient stone walls?

The Cathedral in Light is a highlight (literally) of the Normandy Impressionism Festival, an after-dark audio-visual installation breathed into life by avant-garde artist Robert Wilson.

Running nightly from May 22 to Sept 22, the cathedral will be veiled in light as the air resonates with music by Phillip Glass and the poetry of Maya Angelou.

If you can stay up past dark, don’t miss it.

5. See the DAVID HOCKNEY, NORMANDISM EXHIBITION

If you’re in Rouen, make your way to the Rouen Museum of Fine Arts. After the Musée d’Orsay, it has the largest collection of Impressionist art in France.

While it’s hard to drag your eyes away from masterpieces like Monet’s Rouen Cathedral. The Portal and the Albane Tower. Bad weather, it’s a sparkle of a surprise to burst onto the Hockney show.

One of the biggest names in pop art of the 60s, Hockney, now 86, has made Normandy his home since 2019, and his Normandy-based landscapes reveal a tie to impressionism through his use of light, colour and place.

Especially fun is the Moon Room, where Hockney’s iPad drawings tip the Impressionism theme into high tech.

DAVID HOCKNEY NORMANDISM runs until Sept 22, 2024.

Pick and Choose More Events

There are so many more 150th anniversary events to sift through. Here’s an interesting trio.

Resonance Paintings – Nymphéas by Oliver Beer

Also in Rouen, British contemporary artist Oliver Beer is showing a series of abstract paintings created from the vibrations of the waterlily pond in Monet’s Garden at Giverny.

The show runs from May 23 to July 21 at Hangar 107.

Photography in Normandy (1840-1890) in Le Havre

With a leading collection of Impressionist art, the Museum of Modern Art Andre Malraux (MuMa) is well worth a visit for its permanent collection alone.

From May 25 to Sept 22, it’s hosting Photography in Normandy (1840-1890), a pioneer dialogue between the arts, where you’ll be able to view its charms and changes in the time of the Impressionists, and the impact the region had on the burgeoning art of photography.

Impressionism and the Sea at Giverny

Only 50 minutes away from Paris, the Impressionism Museum of Giverny is hosting Impressionism and the Sea until June 30th – the perfect complement to Claude Monet’s House and Gardens down the street.

Impressionism and Its Influence on the World

The bottom line is that the 150th Anniversary of Impressionism is the perfect time to dive into some of France’s best art.

For those who prefer contemporary art, and think Impressionism is pretty but passé, this massive 150th birthday party brings it alive again, revealing how radical the movement was at the time, and how creators continue to interpret it today.

For more great things to do in France visit my France Travel page. Or check out the 10 Best Things to Do in Paris.