Early Impressionism and the French State

Jane Roos explores the reception of modernist painting in the years that preceded the Impressionist exhibition of 1874. Opening with an extensive analysis of the ministry of fine arts and the politics of the Salon, the study considers the Salon experiences of Courbet, Manet, and the group that became known as the Impressionists: Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Degas, Morisot, Cézanne, and Bazille. Revealing the relative liberalism of art administrators, Jane Roos questions the traditional 'rebel status' accorded to these painters in traditional histories of Modernism. This book also examines how art was politicized during this period and how politics affected the Impressionist exhibition of 1874.