FIRST IMPRESSIONS
As is often the case in the world of art, any shift in style towards a new movement is derided at the time but celebrated later, and never more so than with the Impressionists. Today the Impressionist movement is feted as one of the most influential and important in art history, but initially it was reviled by critics and the public alike, with the artists shunned for moving away from traditional styles and subject matter towards a more modern way of painting.
When the movement began during the
