Impressionists on the Water

An unprecedented new book celebrating the Impressionist themes of water and boats including works by the movement’s most renowned artists, such as Manet and Monet, Renoir and Seurat. Plein-air painting allowed the Impressionists to capture a vibrant outdoor world with startling immediacy; and water, boats, and all things nautical provided natural fodder for these artists, many of whom were sailors and yachtsman themselves. This unprecedented new volume, coinciding with a major exhibition organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, traces the history of these delightful, light-infused water scenes within the social context of the latter nineteenth century. A new and expansive exploration of Impressionist themes of water and boating, this catalogue examines the changing depictions of water from pre-Impressionism (Corot, Daubigny) through Impressionism (Manet, Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Caillebotte) to neo- and post-Impressionism (Cezanne, Seurat, Signac). Throughout, connections to contemporary life, such as the literature of Zola and Maupassant and the growing use of boats as leisure craft at yacht clubs and locales such as the famously depicted Argenteuil, clarify the social and cultural implications of the nautical themes embraced by the Impressionists. This handsomely designed book will be a welcome addition to the libraries of water-farers everywhere and will appeal to scholars and connoisseurs of one of the most beloved periods of art history.

Phillip Dennis Cate, former director of the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum in New Jersey, is a specialist in nineteenth-century French art. Daniel Charles is a noted historian of innovation and technology, with a particular expertise in maritime heritage. Christopher Lloyd is Surveyor of the Queen’s Pictures. Previously he was an instructor and curator in the department of Western art of the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford University