IMPRESSIONIST ARTISTS PAINTED IN THE OPEN AIR, TRAVELLING AND PAINTING FROM NATURE.

Breaking free from the rigidity of the Salon, their painting came out of every day life, finding wonderment in the ordinary.

Although each artist had their own technique, what they had in common was their attidude to light and the play of light and colours.

They used bright, lively, singing colours. They rarely used black and grey.

Renoir said:   "One morning one of us ran out of black.  That was the beginning of the Impressionist movement."

GAIN INSIGHT INTO SOME OF THE IMPRESSIONIST ARTISTS' EXPERIENCES, AND DISCOVER THE REGIONS WHERE IMPRESSIONISM WAS BORN.

All the Impressionists lived and painted in or around Paris before going on to discover new environments, new skies and new light
(Gauguin, Renoir, Van Gogh, Utrillo, Dufy, Toulouse-Lautrec, Seurat, Signac, Degas, Manet, Monet, Morisot, Daubigny, Sisley).

The region around Paris became within easy reach of impoverished artists thanks to the new railways. The river Seine and its valley where the light can be clear or misty, the sky clear blue, with light clouds or grey heralding rain and snow.

WE OFFER A RANGE OF PRIVATE HALF DAY AND FULL DAY TOURS AND MUSEUM VISITS ACCOMPANIED BY AN ART HISTORIAN.

 PARIS
Musée d'Orsay
Orangerie
Marmottan - Monet
Montmartre

Petit Palais

ILE DE FRANCE

Monet's Garden at Giverny
Auvers-sur-Oise
Seine of the Impressionists -
including Louveciennes,
Chatou, Bougival

IMPRESSIONISTS SAMPLE ITINERARY

Accompanied by an expert Art Historian

THE GUIDE

This itinerary is based on being accompanied throughout the entire tour by a highly qualified Art Historian, graduate of the Ecole du Louvre.  Our clients consistently report back that she is the most knowledgeable guide they have ever had.   The itinerary starts with the background, tracing the changes which took place in art as the 19th century unfolded, with the change from the classical style, the precursors to and then birth of the Impressionist movement.

The program is designed to be a complete immersion in the subject.

DAY 1

LOUVRE - To set the scene, we start with two rooms at the Louvre, to compare the Classical painters of the 19th century (i.e. Ingres) with the precursors to Impressionism.

Walk through the Tuileries Garden to-

ORANGERIE -  to see Monet's spectacular Nymphéas.

Afternoon walking tour of Montmartre in the footsteps of the Impressionist painters.

MUSÉE D'ORSAY - World famous for its large collection of Impressionist masterpieces.

PETIT PALAIS -  This beautiful museum contains some examples of Impressionist paintings.

MARMOTTAN MONET - Thanks to the donations of important collections, this museum houses the most important collection in the world of Monet's works, as well as prestigious works by Manet, Pissarro, Degas, Berthe Morisot, Renoir and Sisley.

DAY 3

Visit the Impressionist's favorite spots along the Seine - Bougival, Marly-le-Roi's charming old village and Louveciennes, finishing at the Ile de Chatou where you can still have lunch on the balcony of Maison Fournaise restaurant just as Renoir painted it.

After a delightful day out of Paris, you have the option of returning to Paris for the evening or staying overnight in a little hotel in a picturesque cobbled street in an old village, which was a favorite subject of the Impressionists.

DAY 4

Visit Giverny,  to see MONET'S GARDEN and the MUSÉE DES IMPRESSIONNISMES.

DAY 5

Another day out of Paris -  A visit of the whimsical "Voyage au temps des Impressionistes" at the Château of Auvers-sur-Oise followed by a tour of the town including the Auberge Ravoux, Maison de Van Gogh, Dr Gachet's house, Daubigny's home and atelier (still owned by his descendants).  Walk through the fields in the footsteps of Vincent Van Gogh and finish the day at his tomb.

Return to Paris in the afternoon.

NORMANDY: