10 Impressionist Paintings for Spring

1. Claude Monet

Let’s start with the father of Impressionism: Claude Monet. Midway through his life, he settled with his family in Giverny, a small commune west of Paris. Their new home included a large stretch of land perfect for his great landscaping project. He worked meticulously to create a stunning space, filled with flowers, a pond, and an orchard. Monet adored his garden. It became his great source of inspiration. There, he painted his famous Water Lilies. The artist was also very particular about its upkeep. He hired many gardeners to maintain every detail exactly as he imagined.

2. Pierre-Auguste Renoir

A leading Impressionist, Pierre-Auguste Renoir is well known for his portraits. But like other Impressionists, he was also a skilled en plein air (outdoors) painter. Landscapes gave him an opportunity to study light and shadows in their most natural state. Spring at Chatou depicts a sunlit meadow located just outside of Paris. It perfectly captures the characteristic of the Impressionist style.

To paint the fleeting moments in nature, artists had to work quickly. Detail was not the focus. The play between light and shadow mattered most. Impressionists realized shadows are not just black but rather reflect surrounding colors. In this piece, plants fill the canvas, but they are not simply green as one might expect. The trees cast a soft blue shade on the grass. Meanwhile, sunlight adds a yellowish glow to the brighter spots. This attention to subtle and unexpected colors is what defines Impressionism.

3. Camille Pissarro

Similarly to his fellow Impressionists, Camille Pissarro lived in the countryside outside of Paris. And just like them he found inspiration in the simple village life and nature. Orchard with Flowering Trees perfectly captures the time of early spring. Plum trees, that only just began to bloom, take the center stage.

Pissarro was both praised and critiqued for his unique choice of colors. If you look closely, you will see that the sky is not just blue. It carries a subtle, yellowish tint. The trees are not plain brown; you can see bits of green or violet peek through. Even the white blossom are not purely white either. This revolutionary use of color is what set Impressionists apart from earlier artists. All those unexpected tones blend in the viewer’s eye. As a result, we get a lively scene without relying on the detail.

4. Édouard Manet

Manet played a key role in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. We can observe a shift in his style after the Impressionist movement began. His palette grew lighter, and brushstrokes became looser. Though inspired by fellow artists of the time, Manet never exhibited with the Impressionists. Most of his works focused on figurative scenes. Nonetheless, he left behind many still lifes too. Especially in his final years, he focused mainly on them. At that point in his life, his style leaned mostly toward Impressionism. We can see this clearly in his portrayals of flowers in crystal vases.

5. Alfred Sisley

Sisley was the most consistent Impressionist painter. He found the style to be the most suitable and never tried to deviate from it. The themes of his works also remained without much experimentation. He adored painting landscapes en plein air, so that is exactly what he focused on. But if you are good at something, why change it? Sisley’s stunning landscapes do what Impressionist works were meant to do. They transport us to the moment they were created. Looking at paintings like The Small Meadows in Spring, we can feel the ambiance of an early spring day. The leaves are not quite there yet, but we can still feel the warmth from the sun lighting up the trees leaving behind a yellow hue.

6. Berthe Morisot

In a male-dominated art world, we must not forget the brilliant women who also rejected strict realism in favor of a freer, more playful form of artistic expression. One woman in particular made her name heard in a small circle of painters known as Impressionists.

Berthe Morisot was one of the few women who took part in the very first Impressionist exhibition and continued to work closely with them for the rest of her life. She even married Édouard Manet’s younger brother, Eugène, who frequently appeared in her work. Nevertheless, Morisot kept signing her works with her maiden name even after marriage. Her paintings focused on domestic life. She loved to portray quiet moments with her husband and their child, both at home and in lush garden settings.

7. Władysław Podkowiński

Though Impressionism was born in Paris, its influence spread all around the world. Władysław Podkowiński, a Polish artist, traveled to Paris in 1889—just as the shift to Post-Impressionism began. There, he saw works by leading painters like Monet and became deeply inspired. After that, his style changed. His works became brighter and his brushstrokes loosened. He also began to pay more attention to how light shapes nature. His Impressionist exploration was brief, though. In the later stages of his artistic career, he began to lean towards Symbolism. The themes of his works grew darker, more dramatic, and emotionally intense.

8. Childe Hassam

The influence of the Parisian Impressionists even reached across the Atlantic. American artist Childe Hassam traveled to Paris multiple times and even attended an art school there. However, he quickly abandoned academic life to explore his own style. Hassam was inspired by the French Impressionists, including Renoir, whose studio he took over. There, he discovered some of Renoir’s paintings, which influenced his artistic experimentation. The Water Garden is a prime example of his Impressionist work. Some might even mistake it for a painting by Manet. Elongated brushstrokes and keen observation of colors in nature capture the true essence of Impressionism.

9. Vincent Van Gogh

What feels more like spring than soft white petals of blossoming trees? Early in his life, Vincent van Gogh kept his palette rather dark and gloomy. But everything changed after his stay in Paris in the late 1880s. There he encountered works of both the Impressionists and early Post-Impressionists. He also had a chance to acquire many Japanese ukiyo-e prints. This had a huge impact on his style. His paintings became brighter and more colorful. Van Gogh also became particularly fascinated by blossoming trees, as seen in Peach Trees in Blossom and one of his most famous works, Almond Blossom.

10. Wynford Dewhurst

Let’s wrap up with perhaps a lesser-known but highly regarded Impressionist from Great Britain: Wynford Dewhurst. As an art theorist, he was the first to write about the Impressionist movement in English. In his work, he also highlighted the influence of British Romantic painters like Turner and Constable on the Parisian Impressionists. Like many non-French Impressionists, Dewhurst discovered their work upon moving to Paris. Unsurprisingly, his greatest inspiration became Claude Monet, which earned him the title of  “Manchester’s Monet”. His Apple-Blossom Time in Arc-la-Bataille reminds us of the very essence of spring: soft white and pink petals of blossoming trees.

We hope you enjoyed this selection of spring Impressionist paintings. If you want to delve even deeper into the stories about the movement and its artists, be sure to check out our French Impressionism Mega Course! It will help you become an expert on Impressionism!