Impressionism is rarely associated with the term decoration, nor is it associated with walls, objects, fans, ceramics or bas-reliefs. However, Impressionist works that are now seen as easel paintings - landscapes, flowers or scenes of modern life - were originally conceived as decorations. Concerned about the place of beauty in everyday life, the impressionist artists made it a field of experimentation, venturing out into different media, and fully exploring their possibilities.  

This aspect of Impressionism is little known today. Yet the Water Lilies cycle at the Orangerie, which Monet called his “great decorations,” crowns more than sixty years of forays into this field.  Our lecture explores another history of Impressionism with works by Caillebotte, Cassatt, Cézanne, Degas, Manet, Monet, Morisot, Pissarro, and Renoir from international collections, many of which have only rarely or never been shown in France.