Post-Impressionism

Have you ever tried to catch a sunbeam dancing on the water or watch a fluffy cloud race across the sky. I am that feeling, captured in a painting. I am not made of perfect, straight lines or colors that stay inside the box. Instead, I am made of quick, shimmery dabs of color, like a thousand little jewels sparkling together. I am the warmth of the sun on your face and the cool breeze in the trees. I am the idea that a painting can be about one wonderful, fleeting moment. My artists don't try to paint things exactly as they are, but instead how they feel. They use bright, happy colors to show the light and shadows that change everything from one second to the next. I am a brand new way of seeing the world, full of light and movement.

My name is Impressionism, and I was born in a beautiful city called Paris a long, long time ago. My best friends were artists, like a kind man named Claude Monet. Claude and his friends were tired of painting inside dark, stuffy rooms. They wanted to be outside in the real world. Luckily, a new invention had just arrived: paint that came in little metal tubes. This meant they could pack up their easels and canvases and go anywhere. They went to gardens, riversides, and busy city streets. Using short, bright brushstrokes, they painted the 'impression' of what they saw. One day, Monet painted a beautiful harbor as the sun was coming up. He called it 'Impression, Sunrise'. When people saw it, some thought it looked unfinished and blurry. But from that painting, I got my name. They called us the Impressionists, and we were ready to show everyone how beautiful the world could be.

I taught the world that a painting doesn't have to be a perfect copy of something, like a photograph. Instead, a painting can be about capturing a feeling. My artist friends showed everyone how light can play tricks and change colors in magical ways. They painted haystacks that glowed with purple and orange light at sunset. They painted water lilies on a pond that sparkled with dabs of yellow, blue, and pink. I helped artists feel free to paint what they felt in their hearts. So next time you are outside, look closely. Notice how the sunlight makes the leaves on a tree look golden, or how a puddle reflects the whole blue sky. You are seeing the world just like my friends did. You are seeing the beauty of a quick, wonderful moment, and that is what I am all about.