Modern art began with Impressionism, a movement founded in Paris as an opposition to rigid traditions favored by old institutions. The term impressionism was coined in 1874 by a journalist named Louis Leroy who worked for the magazine Le Charivari. Unfortunately, many critics at the time found impressionist art seemingly incomplete.

The Impressionist style of painting is characterized by loose imagery rather than finely delineated pictures. The artists of this movement worked mostly outdoors. They make every effort to capture the variations of light at various times throughout the day. Their color palettes were colorful and rarely used black or grays. Subject matter was often landscape or scenes from daily life.