DULLING THE Light.

This article focuses on the origins and impact of the Impressionist art movement, which emerged in 19th-century France as a group of young artists sought to depict everyday life and natural light rather than traditional historical or aristocratic subjects. Key figures such as Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Édouard Manet, and others formed the Batignolles group and established the Société Anonyme Coopérative des Artistes Peintres, Sculpteurs, Graveurs to exhibit their work independently of the official Paris Salon. The movement’s hallmark was painting outdoors ("en plein air") with quick, expressive brushstrokes emphasizing light and color over precise form, a style initially met with criticism but later celebrated. The article also highlights the contributions of female Impressionists Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt, as well as the movement’s influence on subsequent styles like Neo-Impressionism. [Extracted from the article]