He began with very fuzzy looking works of light and sun, then began to paint more sharply drawn works, especially of women. His earliest works have urban subjects. They are typical "Impressionist snapshots of real life, full of sparkling colour and light," but by "the mid-1880s," Renior "had broken with the movement to apply a more disciplined, formal technique to portraits and figure paintings, particularly of women" such as his "Bathers," painted slowly over the course of the years of 1884-87. (Picoch, 2002) Edgar Degas -- representing movement and the working class

Of all the Impressionists, Edgar Degas is acknowledged as the master of drawing the human figure in motion. Degas worked in many mediums, preferring pastels to oils. He is perhaps best known for his paintings, drawings, and bronzes of ballerinas and of race horses. Movement's ability to engage in the expressive aims of impressionism is what is important. "These characteristics set Degas apart from the other painters," (Picoh, 2003) He also preferred pastels, even sketches, than oils, and his subjects were not landscapes or even beautiful human forms but "milliners, laundresses, and groups of dancers against backgrounds now only sketchily indicated." The bronze "Little Dancer" is a sculpture of a simle, ordinary member of the Paris Opera ballet chorus. (Harden, 2002)

Cassatt -- the American and the woman of the movement

Like her French Impressionist friends, "Cassatt used light, bright colors and sketchy brushstrokes to create the effect of what the eye sees at a glance." But unique to Cassatt is her subject choice. Like Degas, Mary Cassatt brought a more earthy touch to Impressionism. The only American as well as the only female Impressionist, Cassatt painted...

"She became particularly well-known for her paintings of peaceful, loving moments shared by mothers and their young children. Cassatt also painted scenes showing women drinking tea, quietly reading, or writing letters." (Burns,2005)
Conclusion: Pissarro -- the last official Impressionist

Camille Pissarro iserhaps the last true Impressionist, as opposed to Post-Impressonist painter. He painted many Parisian and provincial scenes of this period such as "Place du Theatre Francais" (1898) but would soon be surpassed in importance (like Manet was by Monet) by those whom he inspired, like Matisse and Cezanne. ("Camille Pissarro," Encyclopedia Britannica, 1994)

Works Cited

Burns, Sarah. "Cassatt, Mary." World Book Online Reference Center. 2005. World Book, Inc. .[12 Aug 2005]

'Camille Pissarro." Encyclopedia Britannica. 1994. Web Museum Paris. http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/pissarro/[12 Aug 2005]

Cox, Phyllis, Fran Hyder, Sandra Gibson, Myra Douglas, & Alan Bishop,

2003 Web Quest http://www.spa3.k12.sc.us/WebQuests/Impressionism/[12 Aug 2005]

Harden, Marc. "Degas." Web Museum. 2002. http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/degas/[12 Aug 2005]

"Manet." Encyclopedia Britannica. 1994.

http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/manet / [12 Aug 2005]

Picoch, Nicolas. "Monet." Web Museum. 2003.

http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/monet/[12 Aug 2005]

Picoch, Nicolas. "Renoir." Web Museum. 2002. http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/renoir / [12 Aug 2005]

Sayre, Henry M.. "A World of Art," Revised Fourth Edition, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2004.