CLEVELAND – Decades passed since the French Revolution.
And in Paris, France, a radical group of painters emerged during the 1870s. They dared to be different and experimented with the use of tiny, expressive brushstrokes in paintings. Subject matter, though abstract in appearance, included natural landscapes that focused on the real and natural.
But, there was one problem: French institutions and exhibitions considered their artwork disgustingly pitiful. Only traditional styles were respected in France during that period: Classicism, Baroque, and Rococo for example. According to French society, acceptable subject matter for paintings featured historical references and mythology. To introduce another type art form was simply offensive.
For that reason, these bold artists – Claude Monet being one of them – formed a movement called Impressionism.
Soon enough, in the 1880s, a fresh group of 20 or so French artists sprung up – Vincent Van Gogh, Paul
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