Impressionism: The Movement That Was Named After an Insult
The word "Impressionism" started as a critic's joke in a single newspaper review. The painters kept it as a badge of honour — and changed everything about how art related to light, colour and everyday life. Here is what it was, why it caused a scandal, and why it still matters.
J.M.W. Turner: The Barber's Son Who Painted Light Itself
You know the glowing warship at sunset and the train in the rain. Meet J.M.W. Turner: a barber's son who painted light itself, claimed he tied himself to a mast in a storm, hid deliberate "mistakes" in his greatest painting, and quietly invented Impressionism decades early.