What is Impressionism, and what is the origin of its name?*

Impressionism is an art movement that originated in France in the late 19th century. It is characterized by small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities, ordinary subject matter, the inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience, and unusual visual angles.

The term "Impressionism" is derived from the title of a painting by Claude Monet called "Impression, Sunrise" (Impression, soleil levant) which was exhibited in 1874 in the first of the independent exhibitions mounted by Monet and his associates as an alternative to the Salon de Paris. Art critic Louis Leroy, in a satirical review in the French newspaper Le Charivari, responded to the exhibition by calling Monet's painting "Impression" and accused it of being a sketch or "impression," not a finished painting. The artists embraced the term and it soon became the name of their movement.