Impression: Sunrise (1872)
Claude Monet
This painting, sketched one morning at the docks in La Havre, is what gave rise to the popular term "Impressionist", in an article that focused on Manet, Degas, Renoir, Sisley, Morisot and Pissarro, stating that they were Impressionists "in the sense that they do not produce a landscape, but rather convey the sensation produced by the landscape", therefore making an Impression.
Monet's brushwork might, at first glance, be called "sloppy" to the untrained eye, but if you look closer, there is no question as to what the subject of the painting is. It is clearly a painting of boats on the water, with docks in the background, and a sun rising over the scene. This is a considerable feat, considering that the painting is mostly made up of minimal staccato strokes.
Areas of the canvas are unpainted (such as the entire left corner), the original sketch is still visible, and the whole painting gives off an air of being unfinished. Despite this, this painting is still one of his most famous, and one of the paintings most closely associated with Impressionism.
