Impressionism was a very important artistic strand in the history of art. Thinking about it, we prepared 10 questions on the subject for you to test your knowledge.
Belonging to a wealthy family, this painter was born in 1832 and is considered the forerunner of impressionism.
Check the alternative that brings your name and country of origin:
A) Edouard Manet (France)
B) Vincent van Gogh (Holland)
C) Gustave Courbet (Spain)
D) Camille Pissaro (France)
Correct answer is option A.
Édouard Manet (1832-1883) was an artist hailing from a wealthy family in Paris, France.
His painting sought to break some classical traditions and represented a break with academicism, bringing elements that would later be explored in impressionism.
We can cite as one of the characteristics of impressionism:
A) Concern with social issues, revolutionizing painting and bringing a new look to collective problems.
B) Appreciation of technique and precise light, with preference for creating paintings in studios.
C) Use of quick brushstrokes that bring sharpness, firm contours and marked shadows.
D) Preference for light themes and paintings done outdoors, bringing a new representation of light.
Correct answer is option D.
The impressionists innovated when most of them decided to leave their studios and carry out their paintings outdoors.
Light was treated differently than what had been done until then. They valued natural luminosity and sought another way to represent it.
Important names of the impressionist movement are:
A) Van Gogh, Paul Cezanne and Pablo Picasso
B) Berthe Morisot, Paul Gauguin and Veermer
C) Berthe Morisot, Claude Monet and August Renoir
Edgar Degas, Artemisia Gentileschi and Alfred Sisley
Correct answer is option C.
Berthe Morisot (1841-1895) was a French artist seen as "one of the grand dames of Impressionism".
Claude Monet (1840-1926) is one of the best-known names in Impressionism, as is the other Frenchman August Renoir (1841-1919).
How did the expression "impressionism" originate?
A) It was created by the artists of the movement, who elaborated the "Impressionist Manifesto".
B) It was created by Claude Monet when the painter decided on the name at a conference.
C) It came with a tribute from art critics, who really liked the innovative way the artists painted.
D) It was a pejorative way that critics invented to call the type of art that was being produced.
Correct answer is option C.
The type of painting that became known as Impressionist received its name as a form of criticism from art scholars at the time, who rejected the technical innovations of these artists.
It is the name of a very important work of the impressionist movement:
A) The Swing, by Fragonard
B) Bather of Vanpinçon, by Ingres
C) Print, Sunrise, by Monet
D) Still life with red fish, by Matisse
Correct answer is option C.
Canvas "Impression, Sunrise" was painted in 1872 by Monet.
The artist sent the canvas to an art studio, but critics did not like the work and began to label similar paintings "impressionist".
Hence the term impressionism. That is why this is an emblematic work of this European aspect.
In 2021, MASP held an exhibition about a renowned impressionist painter and sculptor. About the artist, the director of the USP Museum of Contemporary Art (MAC), Ana Gonçalves Magalhães, said:
"Nicknamed as ballerinas painter, this cliché attributed to the artist has been reassessed by specialists, who today show us a much more complex, revealing a moralistic and misogynistic look on the part of (...) in approaching the figure of the ballerina and the female figure in general."
Who was this artist?
A) Auguste Renoir
B) Claude Monet
C) Paul Gauguin
D) Edgar Degas
Correct answer is option D.
Edgar Degas was known for his work portraying ballerinas, both in painting and sculpture, an example is the famous bronze work "The Fourteen-Year-Old Ballerina".
His relationship with the girls who posed for him and with the universe of ballet has been reviewed, as one can see with the exhibition "Degas: Dance, Politics and Society", held in August 2021 at MASP, in São Paul.
How did impressionism influence the other movements that emerged later?
A) The movement did not exert any influence on the other movements, being isolated in its creative approach.
B) Impressionism inspired other strands by denying the faithful representation of reality and valuing fragmentation and subjectivism.
C) The impressionist movement negatively impacted the movements that came after it, by rejecting the use of bright, soft colors and loose brushstrokes.
D) Impressionism was not relevant in the art scene at that time and in later years, becoming important only in the mid-twentieth century.
Correct answer is option B.
Post-Impressionism, Expressionism, Fauvism and Cubism were some of the strands that were inspired by Impressionism and the creative freedom it proposed.
The movement had a great impact on the artistic world, being a starting point for thinking about the representation of form, light and colors in a more spontaneous and subjective way.
From Impressionism, a new tendency in painting emerged that deepened in the studies of image composition and optical perception.
The name of this new trend and the artists who dedicated themselves to it is:
A) Pointillism, with Georges Seraut and Paul Signac.
B) Divisionism, with Paul Cézanne and Paul Signac.
C) Op art, with Georges Seraut and Magritte
D) Post-impressionism, with Van Gogh and Salvador Dalí
Correct answer is option A.
Pointillism (or divisionism) is the name given to the trend that emerged from impressionism and was developed and explored by Georges Seraut (1859-1881) and Paul Signac (1863-1935).
In Brazil, impressionism also exerted influence on some painters in the early 20th century.
The name that best represented this trend in Brazil was:A) Anita Malfatti
B) Elisha Visconti
C) Lasar Segall
D) Vicente do Rego Monteiro
Correct answer is option B.
Eliseu Visconti was born in Italy in 1867 and came to Brazil when he was just one year old. He trained as an artist in Brazil and in 1882 went to Europe to deepen his studies.
Upon his return, he produced innovative creative work strongly inspired by the impressionism he experienced in France.
At the time when impressionism emerged in Europe, an invention was becoming popular that had a strong impact on the artistic milieu. What was this invention?
A) the television
B) the cinema
D) the radio
E) The photograph
Correct answer is option E.
Photography became accessible around the same time that impressionism was being created. Thus, by recording images quickly and accurately, artists began to rethink painting and its "function".
Impressionism was influenced by this novelty, emphasizing the capture of light and exploring subjectivity, as well as experimenting with new forms of representation.
AIDAR, Laura. Exercises on impressionism (with feedback and comments).All Matter, [n.d.]. Available in: https://www.todamateria.com.br/exercicios-impressionismo-com-gabarito-e-comentarios/. Access at:
