What are some of the techniques and aesthetic attributes which defined 19th-century Impressionist paintings? First of all, since Impressionists wanted to escape the cloistered feel of the studio, they often painted outside. As a result, they had to take their paint with them in tiny tubes (somewhat akin to tubes of toothpaste). The French realists, on the other hand, employed desiccated paints mixed with linseed oil. These two different kinds of paints led to very different works of art. The Impressionists liked to create rich blue shadows and tried to avoid the use of black, except as a color. Instead of depicting religious themes or portraits of noblemen, Impressionists attempted to capture the common goings-on outside in the world. Inspired partly by the emerging technology of photography, the Impressionists sought to capture not just that "denotation" of situations but also the emotional connotations associated with them. A women with two male friends in the park became a nude beauty simultaneously wooed by two suitors, for instance. The play of ambient sunlight was also incredibly critical to the Impressionist style. Whereas classic French realists went to great lengths to avoid imbuing their paintings with personality, Impressionists did just the opposite. They layered wet paint on still wet paint to blend colors into one other. They eschewed the thin glazed paints which the realists loved. Finally, they intentionally left brush strokes as reminders of the original presence of the artist. | 
