The Impressionists

by William Gaunt

Among the best loved in the world, the paintings of the Impressionist movement are unrivaled in their critical and popular appeal. The Impressionist artists brought a new kind of realism to painting, often astonishing their contemporaries with their revolutionary treatment of color and light. This book presents glorious full-color plates of the paintings that heralded Impressionism, including some controversial key works that produced a storm of criticism and united the Impressionist artists in purpose. The author outlines the social and political atmosphere of the day and brings into sharp focus the personalities of the individual artists. 10" x 12 1/4".

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Art History

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

William Gaunt (1900–1980) was a British artist and art historian.

After serving briefly with the Durham Light Infantry in the First World War, Gaunt went on to Worcester College, Oxford, and graduated with honours. He completed an MA at the Ruskin School of Drawing and found work as a painter, art historian, art critic, novelist and travel book writer.

During the Second World War he was commissioned by the War Artists’ Advisory Committee to paint London city bomb sites.

Gaunt was drawn to the Pre-Raphaelites, whom he considered to be underappreciated, and wrote his most enduring book on the subject, The Pre-Raphaelite Tragedy (1942), followed by further studies of Victorian art, The Aesthetic Adventure (1945) and Victorian Olympus (1952).

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would never have read this cover to cover if I hadn't been reading 'Luncheon of the Boating Party' at the same time. I never was too crazy about impressionist art but now I feel I have a greater understanding of what they were trying to accomplish. The color plates and accompaning commentary were interesting in their own right but also made the Susan Vreeland book much richer for me.

[Beth Shields-Szostak]

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