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Impressionism

Painters in 1870s Paris who worked quickly, often outdoors, to catch light as it changed.

53 works · hang 7285 ·

The rooms are imagined; every work on their walls is real.

Walk this roomRehang this room

Section 1, north wall

  1. A work made of oil on canvas.
    Rabbit Warren at Pontoise, SnowCamille Pissarro, 1879Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. Landscape, by Edgar Degas, 1892
    LandscapeEdgar Degas, 1892Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. Conversation: Ludovic Halévy and Madame Cardinal (The Conversation) for "La Famille Cardinal" by Ludovic Halévy, by Edgar Degas, c. 1880–83
    Conversation: Ludovic Halévy and Madame Cardinal (The Conversation) for "La Famille Cardinal" by Ludovic HalévyEdgar Degas, c. 1880–83Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  4. Dancers, by Edgar Degas, c. 1896
    DancersEdgar Degas, c. 1896Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Section 1, south wall

  1. A work made of oil on canvas.
    Landscape at ChaillyFrédéric Bazille, 1865Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. The Red Kerchief, by Claude Monet, c. 1868–73
    The Red KerchiefClaude Monet, c. 1868–73Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. Impressionist painting of seated man, girl with brown, black hues.
    Henri Degas and His Niece Lucie Degas (The Artist's Uncle and Cousin)Edgar Degas, 1875–76Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 2, south wall

  1. In a dance studio, two ballerinas wearing knee-length tutus and ballet slippers sit on a bench and stretch to our right while four more pose at the back of the space, to our left, in this long, horizontal painting. The scene and dancers are loosely painted so many features are indistinct. All the women have light skin and dark brown hair. Each pale, robins’ egg-blue costume has a low-cut, tightly fitting, sleeveless bodice and a full skirt. Dabs of off white, teal, and blue suggest flowers lining the deep U of the neckline at the front and down the back of each bodice. Closest to us and nearly brushing the edges of the lower right corner of the canvas, one dancer sits on the end of a wooden bench and leans down between her legs, her feet widely planted. She rests her torso on an elbow folded onto one knee as she reaches for her left foot, farther from us, with her other hand. Her hair is pulled up and her face, looking downward, is deep in shadow. Sitting behind her on the bench, to our left, a second dancer lifts her right leg, toe pointing, as she pulls on her pale pink tights. Her other leg stretches straight, pointed toe brushing the floor, in front of her. This woman’s hair hangs loose around her shoulders. The pair is brightly lit from a source to our right, and an arched area of electric blue and mustard yellow behind them is difficult to interpret. The floor, which takes up about two-thirds of the composition, is painted with dabs of teal blue, pale fuchsia pink, and caramel brown. It leads us back to the upper left corner of the painting where four more four ballerinas stand in a line. The pair to our left stands with their backs to us, facing the wall with their right legs raised to shoulder height, toes pointed. The pair to our right faces us. They also stand with their right legs raised, creating a wide angle with their standing legs. All four ballerinas bend their arms gently at the elbow, and some tip their heads toward the raised legs. The rightmost dancer is illuminated by a pair of French doors at the back corner, at the top center of the painting. The wall behind the bench is streaked with mint green over honey brown, and the wall at the back of the room is leather brown. The visible, soft brushstrokes give the image a blurred, ethereal appearance in the dimmed studio. The artist signed the painting in the lower left corner, “Degas.”
    Before the BalletEdgar Degas, 1890/1892Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. Water Lilies (Agapanthus), by Claude Monet, c. 1915–26
    Water Lilies (Agapanthus)Claude Monet, c. 1915–26Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. A work made of oil on canvas.
    The LaundressPierre-Auguste Renoir, 1877–79Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 2, north wall

  1. Fishmarket, by Camille Pissarro, 1902
    FishmarketCamille Pissarro, 1902Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. Jalais Hill, Pontoise, by Camille Pissarro, 1867
    Jalais Hill, PontoiseCamille Pissarro, 1867Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. Painting composed of short, dense brushstrokes depicts two domed stacks of wheat that cast long shadows on a field. The angled light indicates either a rising or setting sun.
    Stacks of Wheat (End of Summer)Claude Monet, 1890–91Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

Section 3, north wall

  1. A work made of oil on canvas.
    VétheuilClaude Monet, 1901Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  2. A Woman Seated beside a Vase of Flowers (Madame Paul Valpinçon?), by Edgar Degas, 1865
    A Woman Seated beside a Vase of Flowers (Madame Paul Valpinçon?)Edgar Degas, 1865Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. From a high perspective, we look beyond two overlapping, emerald-green hills to a body of powder-blue water dotted with sailboats in this loosely painted horizontal landscape. Closest to us, the hills create a shallow V that spans the lower third of the composition, with the right-hand hill rising to more than halfway up the right edge. The hills are painted with dashes and long strokes mostly in seafoam, shamrock, and celery green, with some swipes of peach, goldenrod yellow, and royal blue. On the hill to our left, one woman sits and the other stands next to her. They wear hats, long-sleeved, fitted jackets, and long skirts in tones of dusky pink and dove gray. A touch of peach on the seated woman, to our left, gives the impression of a pale face. A red veil or scarf at the back of the other woman’s hat is lifted, as if in the wind. The water is painted with blended strokes of pale blue, light turquoise, smoky mauve pink, and touches of soft peach. The horizon comes two-thirds of the way up the composition, and the sky is painted with the same tones of blue, green, and peach to suggest a screen of clouds. Triangles and dashes of slate blue suggest about three dozen sailboats, rowboats, and one steamship in the rippling water. Squiggles of teal and sage green create reflections for some of the boats. The brushstrokes are visible throughout. In some areas, the paint is so thinly applied that the texture of the canvas shows through, especially in the sky. The artist signed the work in the lower left corner: “Claude Monet 82.”
    Cliffs at PourvilleClaude Monet, 1882Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington