Impressionnisme: les origines

The 1860s. A blossoming in the studios of the well-known Paris artists Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir and Paul Cézanne – artists who in a few years profoundly altered the language of art. In those decisive decades, nothing else had such a strong impact on the development of art as the lively intercourse between painters and writers. Under the aegis of Realism and Naturalism, fellowships were formed; heated discussions and conflicts between individuals were commonplace. Impressionism was born as the result of a search for the language of images corresponding to the theoretical bases of Modernism and the rush of modern life. Being modern meant a constant perpetuation of changes and a game of chance. Only working in nature in the open air could bring artists together with states of nature so full of nuances. The film looks into the historical atmosphere of the great art revolution. The authors talk about the studios, cafés and exhibition halls where the future impressionists got together, but also about the institutions these artists contrasted with. Together with the painters, the audience travels to the sources of their inspiration along the Seine in Paris and on the coast of Normandy.

Introduction by Tiina Abel