"The common view that brings these artists together in a group and makes of them a collective force within our disintegrating age is their determination not to aim for perfection, but to be satisfied with a certain general aspect. Once the impression is captured, they declare their role finished. The term Japanese, which was given them first, made no sense. If one wishes to characterize and explain them with a single word, then one would have to coin the word impressionists. They are impressionists in the sense that they paint not landscapes but rather the sensation produced by the landscape. The word itself [impression] has entered their vocabulary; it is not a landscape but instead an impression that one calls the 'Sunrise' by Mr. Monet. Thus they take leave of reality and enter the realms of idealism."
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Original Language: English
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Sources
J. Castagnary (29 April 1874), 'Exposition du Boulevard des Capucines – Les Impressionistes', in Le Siècle, p. 3; as partly quoted in Impressionism: A Centenary Exhibition, Anne Distel, Michel Hoog, Charles S. Moffett, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, (New York, N.Y.) 1975, p. 153
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Impressionism
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