Paris 1874: The Artistic Revolt Against the Salon and the Birth of Impressionism. Sebastian Smee discusses how on April 15, 1874, an exhibition opened marking the birth of Impressionism. The group, including Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Sisley, Cézanne, Degas, and Berthe Morisot, set up the show deliberately outside the established Salon. The Impressionists were frustrated by repeated Salon rejections and were in revolt; they wanted to paint contemporary life and fresh landscapes, rejecting the hierarchy and "made-up landscapes." The name Impressionism originated as an insult from a critic, inspired by Monet's painting, Impression, Sunrise. Critics found the paintings unstructured and lacking deep meaning. A crucial figure absent from the exhibition was Édouard Manet, considered the "father of Impressionism," who still believed success required Salon acceptance and saw the Impressionist show as a small, isolated "silo."

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