Dawn of Impressionism: Paris 1874 – Exhibition On Screen

Writers: Phil Grabsky and Ali Ray

Director: Ali Ray

When we think of Impressionism today, it’s hard to imagine a time when it wasn’t popular. But this is the challenge accepted by Musee d’Orsay and the National Gallery in Washington. Their collaboration, an exhibition titled Paris 1874: The Impressionist Moment, not only explores the origins of the Impressionism movement, but questions how much of our interpretation of it, is truly accurate.

While Exhibition on Screen’s film, Dawn of Impressionism: Paris 1874 starts in a familiar place, it becomes clear that the documentary also aims to reset our expectations. The film begins with Impressionist paintings selling for wallet-busting sums. Degas for 3 million pounds; Cezanne for 32 million dollars. Only the super-rich need apply. But interjected with this is a voice over, a begging letter from Claude Monet. He is, again, desperate for money.

The exhibition takes a step back from the moneyed glow of the big names, and in a stunning coup de theatre, Washington’s National Gallery re-stages the original Impressionist show held in Paris, 1874.

The tried-and-tested method of Exhibition On Screen also undergoes an adjustment. As well as the excellent camera work and background from the museum’s curators, this documentary gives us the Impressionists; their supporters and critics, in their own words. Dawn of Impressionism assembles the major players and the lesser-known names, creating a sense of their place within the art world. After the deaths of Ingres and Delacroix, the Parisian art scene was longing for a sense of direction. The old school, narrative paintings, favoured by The Salon, were looking stale. Young firebrands, such as Manet, worked the system to agitate the mainstream from within. But The Salon’s selection process did not reward experimentation and many Impressionist works failed to make the cut.

The documentary charts the progress made by the Impressionists as they began to realise that the only way forward was to exhibit independently. Their voice, their rules. The show in 1874, while inclusive of artists regardless of class and gender, was not a huge success. Only four paintings sold, including Monet’s Impression, Sunrise. For 1000 francs. What the film does, with the input of the curators during the documentary’s final third, is to assess what this show tells us about the burgeoning art movement. This becomes the most revelatory part of the film. There are surprises: many artworks featured would now fall outside the Impressionist parameters, and the cohesive quality we might expect from a modern show, simply isn’t there. It’s also a reminder that the movement was not just about paintings: the original show also featured sculptures, pastels and prints.

While the middle section of the documentary feels slightly overlong, and the critical exposition feels rushed as a result, the new angle on the Impressionists makes this film not only highly watchable but it succeeds in making us look again at what we know about Impressionism. While its sense of identity emerged later, Impressionism’s faltering, uneasy start was never the point: it was always about autonomy. That is what they achieved.

Dawn of Impressionism is in cinemas from 18 March 2025.