Lunch Pail Lecture: French Impressionism

Join Caroline Fisher, a local storyteller and lifelong Francophile, for a lively overview of the French Impressionists and their art. Like an Impressionist painting itself, this talk will be a journey filled with light and color, offering the broad strokes (pun intended) of how the movement began, how it evolved, and the lasting influence it has had on the art world.

Emerging in France in the 1860s and gaining momentum through the 1870s and 1880s, Impressionism introduced a bold new approach to painting. Inspired by the practice of painting en plein air, these artists sought to capture the fleeting impression of a scene rather than reproduce it with strict realism. This shift opened the door to experimentation with texture, color, light, and composition – an artistic freedom that would ultimately transform modern art. Many of the best-known Impressionists were friends and collaborators who, after being rejected by the traditional art establishment and the Salon de Paris, forged their own path.
Join Caroline for a tour of some of their most iconic paintings, the French towns and cities that shaped their work, and stories of the friendships and lives behind the movement.