Colours of Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay

Book excerpt: One of the great innovations of the Impressionists was their radical use of colour: their application of strokes of complementary or contrasting hues captured the shifting effects of light and foregrounded the nature of vision. Using colour as the lens through which to magnify the movement’s intricacies, this catalogue sweeps us from Manet’s rich blacks, through green and blue landscapes of Monet and Cézanne, to the sensuous pinks of Renoir. Along this journey, scientific discoveries and emerging definitions of modernity are explored, illuminating the profound innovations of the Impressionists and the shifting preconceptions of their art.