Impressionism and Post-Impressionism Art In researching periods of art, the rebellious changes in the late 19th century sparked my interest. Artists in the late 19th century sought to transform the idea of portraying realistic subjects and developed a less formal style that they viewed as more true to how we actually see. I found the Impressionism and Post-Impressionism movements, each with their own distinct styles and characteristics were the gateway to the modern art of today. In this essay I will describe and compare art in the two periods, including social conditions of the time and how these movements influenced the future art world. Impressionism represents a style as well as a name of a group of artists who rebelled against the art academies in Europe. These art academies and government-sanctioned art exhibits, known as salons, controlled how artists made their work known and the value of that art. Artists, such as Monet, Renoir and Degas, used radical techniques in their compositions and were rejected by the salons. These artists challenged the conservative academic standards of form and detail. They came together in 1874 to hold their own independent art exhibition. The name of the style came from critic, Louis Leroy, after publishing his review of the exhibition in which Monet’s painting Impression: Sunrise was displayed. Leroy criticized Monet’s work for appearing unfinished and only giving the impression of art (Samu, n.d.). The Impressionism artists renounced the traditional style of previous art periods and focused on humble elements of daily life. They no longer painted historical and religious subjects that hid the artist’s personality and emotions, but instead painted landscapes and still life using vivid color and loose brush strokes. This more casual style matched the attitudes of life after the Industrial Revolution and many artists