Their quick brush strokes depicted an overall visual effect, giving the impression of the subject matter (instead of precise details). The Impressionist artists also loosened their brushwork and used more pure, powerful colours. By going against the authorized laws of the salon, these artists' works were rejected by many of the academic art institutions as they deemed it "amateurish" and "unfinished". .
The Salon des Refusés (Salon of the Refused) came about when Emperor Napoleon III viewed the Impressionists' rejected works from 1863 and decided that the public should be allowed to judge the work. Many viewers went to this salon for entertainment purposes- to laugh at the artworks! The salon ended up attracting much more visitors than the regular salon due to the new art style. The main members of the Impressionist group consisted of Claude Monet, Renoir, Camille Pissarro, Alfred Sisley, Cézanne, Berthe Morisot, Edgar Degas, Frédéric Bazille, Gustave Caillebotte, Mary Cassatt, Paul Cézanne, Armand Guillaumin, Édouard Manet , Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Expressionism is a modernist movement that originated in Germany and was popular in the mid 20th century. The root of Expressionism is said to have started in 1905 when 4 German artists formed a group called "Die Brücke" (The Bridge) in Dresden. However, the term only became firmly established in 1913. The intention of the artists who were a part of this movement was to represent the world from their own personal perspective by distorting the imagery in order to evoke an emotional response. The artists created works that showed their own outlooks and emotional responses to the world around them. .
This movement was a response to industrialization and the growth of urbanization at the time - which had a dehumanizing effect on the people. The people felt excluded and complacent whilst Germany was pursuing their colonial ambitions and this resulted in them rejecting industrialization and mechanization.