IMPRESSIONISTS' FLOWER PAINTINGS

During the early years of their careers the Impressionists painted many still life paintings. Still life paintings were easy and inexpensive: no need to pay a model to pose. One of the Impressionists' favorite still life subjects was flowers. All of these paintings were part of the exhibition I recently saw at the National Gallery of Art, Frédéric Bazille and The Birth of Impressionism. The flowers are so beautiful you just want to pick them out of the paintings and smell them!

Claude Monet: Spring Flowers (1864)

Henri Fantin-Latour: Pansies (1874)

Gustave Courbet: Vase of Flowers (1862)

Édouard Manet: Peony Stem and Shears (1864)

Auguste Renoir: Still Life with Spring Flowers (1864)

And all these by Bazille himself:

Flowers (1870)

Vase of Flowers on a Console (1867-1868)

Potted Flowers or Flower Study (1866)

 
Young Woman with Peonies (1870)

In the next post I'll show more masterpieces from the exhibition Frédéric Bazille and the Birth of Impressionism, specifically more of the paintings by Bazille himself. 

The National Gallery of Art is located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets NW along Constitution Avenue. The entrance to the East Building is on 4th Street NW.

• Admission is always FREE.
• Open Monday-Saturday: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
• Open Sunday: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
• Closed on December 25 and January 1. 

All photos in this blog post were taken by me.  Unauthorized use is prohibited.