VO1: Hey want to impress your pals, by knowing all about the Impressionists?
VO 2: I love impressionists!
VO 1: Really? You do?
VO 2: Yeah. I love it when people do impressions of famous people.
I'll be baaack.
Get out de chopper.
VO 1: I'm talking about a different type of impressionist.
VO 2: Oh.
VO 1: I'm talking about a group of Europeans who changed the art world.
VO 2: (Yawns)
VO 1: They defied the critics.
VO 2: Oh yeah?
VO 1: They broke the rules.
VO 2: Cool.
VO 1: And stuck it to the man.
VO 2: You mean punks?
VO 1: Well, close enough.
VO 1: Can you believe impressionist art was once loathed by so many?
VO 2: But those paintings seem so... normal.
VO 1: Back in the 1860s, they were far from normal.
In fact, Impressionism was a new style that was the first movement of modern art.
Impressionism originated in France but its impact was felt throughout the West.
VO 2: Sounds important.
VO 1: Oh it was. Here's why.
After centuries of political upheaval and instability in France,
the mid 19th century brought some positive changes.
Under Napoleon's rule a new, fresh-faced Paris emerged.
Though it was still a turbulent time in France, many buildings in Paris were renovated.
Dozens of parks were built.
And trees started to line the streets.
VO 2: Sounds like one of those reality TV shows about house renovations my mum watches.
VO 1: Yes. But on a bigger scale and with fewer annoying contestants.
The Salon - the exhibition that was held at the Palace in the Louvre -
became the most renowned art event in the Western world.
In order for an artist to submit work for exhibit there, the art had to be assessed by a jury of experts.
The jury decided if the work was good enough to be displayed.
ART CRITIC VOICEOVER: It stinks. Blurrgh!
VO 1:One group of artists had all their work rejected by the Salon.
And they weren't happy about it.
VO 2: You talking about those impressionist dudes?
VO 1:You guessed it! The group included: Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir,
Alfred Sisley, Paul Cézanne, Edgar Degas and Berthe Morisot.
Cézanne was like: 'For five years I've submitted work to the Salon, and they've rejected it!
I don't understand it. I posted Woman Dressing on Facebook and it got thousands of likes.'
And Monet was like: 'Stuff those snooty judges.
We'll show 'em.
We'll exhibit our own artwork, and we'll form a gang called....
VO 2: 'The Superfriends!'
We are the Superfriends. We are the Superfriends.
VO 1: Actually the group called themselves
the Anonymous Society of Painters, Sculptors and Printmakers.
VO 2: I prefer my name.
VO 1: They were rebels. Mavericks.
It was unheard of to create an art show
that wasn't organised by the official French Academy's annual Salon.
VO 1: Their first exhibition redefined art marketing.
VO 2: Sounds like they kicked some snobby art critic butt!
VO 1: They did!
So, you're probably wondering what made their work so special?
VO 2: No - I wasn't.
But I bet you're going to tell me anyway.
The paintings of the Romantics - and other styles of the time -
often depicted scenes from great literature, the Bible or historical events.
These artists were concerned with painting realistic scenes.
VO 2: So these Impressionists dudes laughed in the face of convention?
VO 1: Well put. They were controversial because they rebelled against these ideals.
They painted scenes of everyday people and things in a figurative style.
VO 2: That doesn't sound too controversial.
VO 1: Well it was.
Artists like Gustave Courbet paved the way for Impressionism.
Courbet refused to obey tradition and painted peasants and regular Joes on a grand scale,
which was usually reserved for royal, historical or religious subjects.
Japanese wooden block art also had an influence on Impressionism.
By the 1860s, several well-known European artists, including Degas and Vincent Van Gogh,
had developed a fascination for Japanese art and culture.
VO 2: Like this?
VO 1: No! Not like that.
Photography was another important influence
- the Impressionists wanted to capture real life movement.
Impressionism continued into the 1880s
and spawned other post-impressionistic movements like Pointillism,
Fauvism and Futurism.
VO 2: None of those words mean anything to me.
VO 1: Google them.