Celebrations of city streets; tranquil vistas of the countryside and seashore; enchanting images of the leisured classes in domestic interiors or at fashionable Parisian cafes — the work of the Impressionists gives pleasure to art lovers everywhere. But while Impressionism today may appear natural and effortless, contemporaries were shocked by the loose handling of paint and the practice of painting out-of-doors. In defiance of the conservative official Salon, the Impressionists — led by Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Edgar Degas — sought to capture the immediacy of experience. This comprehensive study brings together the most recent research on Impressionism. James Rubin makes accessible its philosophical, political and social context, from Baudelaire's conception to the painter of modern life, to the influences of photography, the burgeoning art market, and contemporary notions of gender and race. As well as the acknowledged masters, our attention is drawn to lesser-known Impressionists such as Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassat and Gustave Caillebotte. Rubin also examines the work of Paul Cezanne and his relationship to the group. Finally, the book explores the legacy of Impressionism and its enduring appeal.

Few artists have been so directly invoved in the events of their time as Gustave Courbert. Amid the social transformations of the mid-19th century, Courberts unconventional and stark paintings came to embody values with radical political implications. Rebuffed by the Parisian art world and attacked as a Realist, he seized upon that name to assert his sympathy for ordinary citizens and their down-to-earth experience. Coubert painted subjects from the world around him: from rural labourersand family gatherings to sensuous landscapes, hunting scenes, still lifes, portraits and erotic nudes. James Rubin addresses the full range of Courbet's work and combines a close reading of the paintings with a discussion of the personal, political, economic and social circumstances in which they were created.