Impressionism, a major movement, first in painting and later in music, that developed chiefly in France during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Impressionist painting comprises the work produced between about 1867 and 1886 by a group of artists who shared a set of related approaches and techniques. The most conspicuous characteristic of Impressionism was an attempt to accurately and objectively record visual reality in terms of transient effects of light and color. .
When impressionism was introduced the artists worked from paintings and drawings of photo images and still life, but without a true sense of reality. They began shifting to works such as "Sunrise" by Monet or "Dance in the Country" by Renoir. The subjects were no longer monotonous portraits of people but fascinating daily objects from all walks of life. The aim of an impressionist is to capture the fleeting vision of joyful everyday scenes as it is viewed in an array of color and light. There were many artists who became world renowned impressionists but a few of the principle artists were, Monet, Renoir, Bazille, Pissarro, Sisley, Morisot, and Guillaumin.
Impressionism was based on light and the subject that was being painted or drawn. Artists no longer stayed in their studios in their homes to paint and draw, but they started to move into town to work. They began to paint subjects that were lively and related to everyday things. This new style of art, impressionism was more interesting and alive than the previous styles and tended to please the eye of art enthusiasts. Light was the main influence in the artists" work. In their studios artists were seeing things in a dull light, there wasn't a burst of light from the sun's rays or various shades of green in a tree. They could paint a portrait of photo images, but then they saw how dissimilar and unusual it was to actually paint and draw something in a different perspective, a new light.