Impressionism: Introduction and Background Known for its radical departure from traditional aesthetics in painting and the decorative arts, Impressionism was a movement deeply rooted in its ideological, cultural, political, and sociological context. The characteristic visual features of Impressionist painting include experimentation with untraditional colors and styles that signal the early transition towards non-representational forms. Subject matters in Impressionist art changed from depicting officially sanctioned people, places, and symbols towards capturing snapshots

Van Gogh was born in the Netherlands to a preacher and his early life had inauspicious surroundings. He was well into maturity when he realized his true vocation was painting, and though he developed his talent in isolation at first, his later experiences in Paris had a profound affect on his painting. Van Gogh is extremely famous for his insanity and mental difficulties, but these conditions also provided the basis

In reality, Van Gogh did not seek nor did he analyze the harmony of nature here; instead, he transformed it by projecting a vision entirely all his own. In conclusion, the great Impressionist painters revealed in their work a restless, self-conscious search for freedom of expression so characteristic of the late 1880's and into the early years of the 20th century. Their desire for a more modern form of expression