Eugène Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People, painted in 1830. It has all the hallmarks of Romanticism. Note the use of light and dark, the dramatic subject matter, and the prominence of the Tricolor, among other things.
Claude Monet’s Impression, Sunrise, painted in 1872. This is the painting that gave “Impressionism” its name. Notice the quiet, undramatic, natural setting and the dreamlike quality the thick brushstrokes produce.
Édouard Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergère, painted in 1882.
The Luncheon on the Grass, also by Manet, painted in 1863. It was so controversial that Émile Zola wrote a novel about it. It was not unprecedented to paint a nude woman, but putting her into this everyday scene with two fully-clothed men (who seem not to notice her) went too far for some.
Auguste Renoir’s Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette, painted in 1876. It depicts working-class Parisians spending a Sunday in the park.
Edgar Degas’ Absinthe, also painted in 1876. Absinthe was a trendy indulgence in Paris at the time, and some claimed that drinking it led to mental illness and violence and was a menace to society.
