This breathtaking survey takes a multi-faceted approach in its study of 90 seminal works of Impressionist art. Accompanying the inaugural exhibition of the new Museum Barberini in Potsdam, Germany, the book features contributions by six leading scholars who examine a wide range of themes, from the use of repetition and variation to the ecological climate in which the artists worked. Underlying and unifying these perspectives is the inexorable change of the landscape itself. Poised on the brink of the Modern Era, the Impressionists documented the effects of industrialihation on French landscapes. Amid these transitions, the artists used the landscape itself to advance their own explorations into the field of color theory. The book also explores the influence of modern poetry and photography on the creation of these paintings. With beautiful reproductions from the masters-including Monet, Pissarro, Sisley, and Renoir-this volume takes an exciting new approach to the study of Impressionism, while introducing audiences to the holdings of a remarkable new museum. With essays by Anke Daemgen, Stephen F. Eisenman, Christoph Heinrich, Jenns E. Howoldt, Nancy Ireson, Julia Knöschke, Stefan Koldehoff, Linda Philipp-Hacka, Richard Shiff, Ortrud Westheider.

Ortrud Westheider ist Direktorin des Museums Barberini in Potsdam.