The creation of a new theory – or the advancement of an existing idea – is seldom a planned event. It is born out of unexpected circumstances and unites people that share common, core values.

Upon researching Impressionism, I was struck by the notion that it was a movement that gained its roots from rejection. Rejection of the status quo – rejection of power that the government-sanctioned Salon provided to artists it approved. Here are artists that are (mostly) poor and eager to sell their paintings, yet rejected by the one venue that has the power to display and sell their art. Yet, even after the rejection these artists, painters, and sculptors banded together to showcase their own exhibit and banded together to create the Anonymous Society of Painters, Sculptors, and Printmakers. This was a brave move, considering that selling paintings was their bread and butter and the last thing one would think to do was create enemies with the state-sponsored (and therefore officially endorsed) Salon. Though the world would know them as Degas, Monet, Manet, and others, at the time these were obscure artists who risked their livelihood and reputation to showcase pieces they truly believed in, which directly challenged government-backed artists at the time, who considered their paintings unfinished – mere impressions (hence the name).

Artists of the Impressionist era hungered to represent the world as it was, treating a single moment and everything about it – the object, its surroundings, and the angle at which light inter-played with the scene – as sacred, yet ever changing.

There is a magical quality in realizing that the world is full of fleeting, sacred moments that are ever moving, ever changing – whether it is the French countryside, an earnest glance, or an approaching train. Nothing will be the same as it is in that moment and to be able to capture the now is to recognize that this moment is beautiful, and it will never come back – as imperfect as it is.

This appreciation for the ever-fleeting, imperfect moment is even more commendable when you take into account the historical occurrences of the time. Artists were living under oppressive regimes that exposed populations to years of poverty, yet government-sanctioned artists – instead of depicting reality – were painting perfect looking, idealized nudes, pristine nature and an idealization that was directly contradicting surrounding circumstance. Whether the focus was the French countryside, the rise of modernity, or the Franco-Prussian war, artists from the Impressionist era took material for pieces from reality and essentially created space for people to be able to see themselves  in the art created.

Ultimately, Impressionism succeeded in pushing the boundaries of human understanding by expanding the definition of beauty. Beauty is not just perfectly proportioned lines, simple colors and neatly drawn, idealized objects. Beauty is omnipresent – it’s spontaneous, natural, ever-fleeting and perfect in its imperfection.

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I’ll be posting pictures of paintings that resonated with me while at The Met and a short biography about the artist. It’ll be fun to take a dive into the lives of avant-garde artists that created beautiful, emotive and everlasting works of art. Can’t wait!

*featured image: Bouquet of Sunflowers, 1881 by Claude Monet. Picture taken by me!