Artists of the Neo-Impressionist circle renounced the random spontaneity of Impressionism in favor of a measured painting technique grounded in science and the study of optics.

Through their radically independent styles and dedication to pursuing unique means of artistic expression, the Post-Impressionists dramatically influenced generations of artists.

In 1886, with a series of brilliant images of New York’s new public parks, William Merritt Chase became the first major American painter to create Impressionist canvases in the United States.

In addition to their radical technique, the bright colors of Impressionist canvases were shocking for eyes accustomed to the more sober colors of Academic painting.

This handsome publication, which accompanies a major exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is a lively and engaging account of the artistic scene in Paris in the 1860s, the years that witnessed the beginnings of Impressionism. For the first time the interactions and relationships among the group of painters who became known as the Impressionists are examined without the over-worn art historical polarities commonly evoked: academic versus avant-garde, classicist versus romantic, realist versus impressionist. A host of strong personalities contributed to this history, and their style evolved into a new way of looking at the world. These artists wanted above all to give an impression of truth and to have an impact on or even to shock the public. And they wanted to measure up to or surpass their elders. This complex and rich environment is presented here—the grand old men and the young turks encounter each other, the Salon pontificates, and the new generation moves fitfully ahead, benignly but always with determination. Origins of Impressionism gives a day-by-day, year-by-year study of the genesis of an epoch-making style. Nine essays review the Parisian art world before Impressionism ("The Salon of 1859") and the traditional genres both as they were known and as they would be transformed by the New Painting ("History Painting," "Realist Landscape," "The Nude," "Figures in Landscape," "Still Life," "Portraits and Figures," "Impressionist Landscape," and "Modern Life"). Each is illustrated with an abundance of works by the new artists as well as by those who made up the rest of the artistic milieu. The breadth and depth of the art world become evident and our understanding is further expanded by a wealth of contemporaneous comments and criticism. The relations between artists—Manet and Degas, Cézanne and Pissarro, Monet and Bazille, among others—are made clear, and their implications are explored. Insightful commentary brings new dimensions to Monet, Fantin-Latour, and Renoir. Throughout, the history of this period is greatly augmented and much sharpened. Bibliographies and provenances are provided for each of the almost two hundred works in the exhibition, and there is an illustrated chronology. With more than two hundred superb color-plates, this informative survey is an essential work for both the general reader and the scholar.

Several members of the Teen Advisory Group share their first impressions of John Singer Sargent's Madame X and discuss what they find most striking about the painting.

The German expatriate Hans Hofmann (1880–1966) became the most influential teacher of modern art in the United States, and his impact reached both artists and critics.

The Walter H. and Leonore Annenberg Collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings, watercolors, and drawings constitutes one of the most remarkable gifts ever made to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. A centerpiece of the Museum's world-renowned holdings of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century art, the Annenberg Collection reflects the discriminating taste, generosity, and inspired foresight of two exceptional benefactors. This revised and expanded edition of the original catalogue, published two decades ago, presents more than fifty masterworks by eighteen of the greatest artists of the period. Notable for the astonishing quality of its individual works and for its range, the collection celebrates the many facets of avant-garde art as it unfolded in paintings ranging from Corot's fresh-faced young girl of the early 1860s to Picasso's world-weary harlequin of 1905. The landscape of France is seen in alluring variety: sunlit garden scenes by the Impressionists and iconic vistas of Provence by Van Gogh and Cézanne join seaside views by Seurat and Braque in which Pointillist calculation gives way to riotous Fauve color. The scope of the artists' devotion to still life and flower painting embraces the exquisite harmonics of Fantin-Latour's fine-tuned bouquets as well as the bold grandeur of Monet's late water lilies. Other signature subjects are handsomely represented by works that showcase Degas's dancers and milliners, Renoir's rosy nudes, Gauguin's Tahitians, Lautrec's streetwalkers, Matisse's odalisques, and Vuillard's domestic interiors. Among the numerous highlights are such benchmark pictures as Cézanne's early portrait or his Uncle Dominique. Renoir's Daughters of Catulle Mendes, Monet's Camille Monet on a Garden Bench, Van Gogh's La Berceuse, and Picasso's At the Lapin Agile. This richly illustrated and fully documented volume includes in-depth discussions of each of the works of art, written by leading experts in the field. Their insightful texts, benefiting from the latest scholarly and technical findings, are accompanied by newly updated provenance information, exhibition histories, and references. A comprehensive bibliography and index are provided at the back of the book.

Teen Advisory Group Member Cheeky Swagger (a.k.a. Dan) discusses his appreciation for Pierre-Auguste Cot's 1873 painting Springtime.

To complement the major exhibition Signac 1863-1935: Master Neo-Impressionist, The Metropolitan Museum of Art will present paintings, drawings, and watercolors – selected entirely from the Museum's own collections – by Charles Angrand, Henri-Edmond Cross, Maximilien Luce, Hippolyte Petitjean and other artists who, like Paul Signac, exuberantly followed the groundbreaking techniques of optical painting introduced in the 1880s by Georges Seurat. On view at the Metropolitan from October 2 through December 30, 2001, Neo-Impressionism: The Circle of Paul Signac will feature some 60 works by these artists as well as by the better-known Signac and Seurat.

Featuring some eighty major figure paintings, this exhibition presents a revealing look at the role of fashion in the works of the Impressionists and their contemporaries.

On view February 26–May 27, 2013