The history of modern art begins with Impressionism, a movement started in Paris in the mid-1800's. At that time many artists painted in a very traditional way that involved spending hours in a studio,painstakingly  creating paintings that were extremely detailed. These paintings were sometimes of people or landscapes or historical events. In 1863, Edouard Manet exhibited his painting "Dejeuner sur l'erbe" at the Salon des Refuses. The painting caused acommotion , thus starting the Impressionist movement. Although Edouard Manet is the declared leader and founder of the group, he was not present at the first group exhibition or any of the other eight collective Impressionist shows. The movement gained more attention in the April of 1874 when Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, and Jean-Frederic Bazille formed Society of Artists, Painters, Sculptors, Engravers and began exhibiting outside of the official salon. The same year, the term Impressionism was invented by criticizing  journalist Louis Leroy to describe their paintings, who worked for the magazineLe Charivari. The Impressionists often paint out of doors and want to show how light and shadow fall on objects at particular times of the day. Their works are sometimes described as "captured moments" and are characterized by short quickbrushstrokes  of colour which, when viewed up close looks quite messy and unreal. If we step back from the Impressionist paintings, the colours are blended together by our eyes and we are able to see the painters' subjects which often show colourful landscapes, sunlight on water as well as people busy with outdoor activities. The works of the Impressionists are best viewed  _  .
with imagination at a distance outdoors in a studio