Impressionism
In what year was the first Impressionist art exhibition held?
Claude Monet
The first Impressionist exhibition was held in 1874 at 35 boulevard des Capucines, Paris, from 15 April to 15 May. The primary purpose of the participants was not so much to promote a new style, but to free themselves from the constraints of the Salon de Paris. The exhibition, open to anyone prepared to pay 60 francs, gave artists the opportunity to show their work without the interference of a jury. Renoir chaired the hanging committee and did most of the work himself, as others members failed to present themselves. In addition to "" (pictured above) Monet presented four oil paintings and seven pastels. Among the paintings he displayed was "The Luncheon" (1868), which features Camille Doncieux and Jean Monet, and which had been rejected by the Paris Salon of 1870. Also in this exhibition was a painting titled "Boulevard des Capucines", a painting of the boulevard done from the photographer Nadar's apartment at no. 35. Monet painted the subject twice and it is uncertain which of the two pictures, that now in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow, or that in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City was the painting that appeared in the groundbreaking 1874 exhibition, though more recently the Moscow picture has been favoured. Altogether, 165 works were exhibited in the exhibition, including 4 oils, 2 pastels and 3 watercolors by Morisot; 6 oils and 1 pastel by Renoir; 10 works by Degas; 5 by Pissarro; 3 by Cézanne; and 3 by Guillaumin. Several works were on loan, including Cézanne's "Modern Olympia", Morisot's "Hide and Seek" (owned by Manet) and 2 landscapes by Sisley that had been purchased by Durand-Ruel. The total attendance is estimated at 3500 and some works did sell, though some exhibitors had placed their prices too high. Pissarro was asking 1000 francs for "The Orchard" and Monet the same for "Impression: Sunrise", neither of which sold. Renoir failed to obtain the 500 francs he was asking for "La Loge", but later sold it for 450 francs to Père Martin, dealer and supporter of the group.