THE 1874 EXHIBITION AND THE BIRTH OF IMPRESSIONISM Colleague Sebastian Smee. In the spring of 1874, a group of painters including Degas, Monet, Pissarro, and Renoir gathered at the studio of the photographer Nadar to exhibit their work outside the established "Salon" system. This group, organizing themselves as the "Société Anonyme," had grown tired of the Salon's hierarchical preference for large-scale history and religious paintings over landscapes and contemporary life. The movement received its name from a critic who wrote a parody of the exhibition, seizing upon the title of Claude Monet's painting, Impression, Sunrise, to mock the work as unfinished sketches lacking structure or deep meaning. While photography existed, these painters sought to tell the story of their times through a revolutionary style that defied convention. Notably absent from this founding exhibition was Édouard Manet, the group's "blood brother" and inspiration, who still believed success required acceptance within the official Salon. NUMBER 1
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