Impressionism: Origins, Practice, Reception

Belinda Thomson's contribution to the Thames & Hudson World of Art series is one of the best that I have encountered yet. One of the things that I most like about this series is the way that they have attempted over time to introduce new volumes are subjects that have more or less been covered before in order to provide a new treatment of the subject in attune with the latest critical scholarship. While some older World of Art titles touching upon the Impressionists preceded the period of influence and work of scholars like T. J. Clark, Robert L. Herbert, Ruth Berson, Patricia Mainardi, and many other contemporary art critics, Thomson carries out a complete reevaluation of the work of the Impressionists by pulling on the work of the recent scholarship. As a result, I believe that this volume is now the finest short introduction to the Impressionists now in print. It doesn't supercede larger, more in depth studies like Herbert's IMPRESSIONISM: ART, LEISURE, AND PARISIAN SOCIETY or John Rewald's older, almost encyclopedic history, but anyone wanting to gain an overview of Impressionism is unlikely to find a better brief study. Although Thomson discusses many of the lesser Impressionists as well, she concentrates on a relatively small number of central figures, some who have only recently begun to receive the degree of attention that they deserve. She deals with Manet (and Bazille) as the crucial precursor and early collaborators, and then focuses on Monet, Degas, Renoir, Morisot, Sisley, Pissaro, Caillebotte, Cassatt, Gaugin, Fatin-Latour, and Guillaumin, and also Cézanne, whose relationship with the group was less clear. Each chapter tends to deal with most or all of these figures. These chapters she arranges around specific topics and themes. Thus, her study is driven more by ideas and themes than by chronology or biography, though neither of these elements is entirely missing. I found this thematic approach to be extremely effective, and some of the chapters shed a great deal of new light upon the Impressionists for me. For instance, I especially profited from the discussion of what light the marriages of the various Impressionists shed upon their social assumptions and their art. She also does a splendid job throughout of explaining the connection between their audiences, the avenues available to them for displaying their work, and the role of the art dealers in making their works available to the buying public. A book of this size will of necessity have limitations placed upon it. Thomson has chosen to focus more upon the larger context of the work of the Impressionists, and has perhaps less discussion of specific works of art than other books on the subject. Some may find this a weakness, but in my opinion most of the other books have neglected context for discussion of specific paintings. Thus, sometimes a mildly ahistorical (in some cases a profoundly ahistorical) approach is taken. I loved the very concrete picture of the Impressionists'

This book was a good introduction into art for me. The book had many color pictures with short but illuminative descriptions. For $15 it was a bargain. The book described not only the techniques and philosophy of the artists but also the surrounding circumstances.

An even-handed, well-written, and detailed account of Impressionism. I liked that the author places Impressionism in its political, historical, and sociological context.