XII-3. Reading Evaluation

Instructions: You will now read a passage from an art history text. After reading, you will have 18 minutes to answer 10 questions. This simulates the timing of one passage on the real TOEFL iBT.

The Birth of Impressionism

The second half of the nineteenth century in France was a period of profound social and artistic change. The rigid traditions of the French Académie des Beaux-Arts, which dictated the acceptable style and subject matter for art, were being challenged by a group of young, independent artists. This clash culminated in the birth of a revolutionary new art movement: Impressionism. For centuries, the Académie had championed a style of historical and mythological painting that was polished, detailed, and realistic. The ultimate goal was to create a smooth surface where the artist’s brushstrokes were invisible, creating a “window onto the world.”

The artists who would become the Impressionists, including Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Edgar Degas, rejected these constraints. They were interested in capturing the fleeting, sensory effect of a moment—the impression—rather than the detailed reality of a subject. This new approach was driven by a desire to paint modern life. Instead of historical scenes, they depicted Parisian cafes, suburban landscapes, and everyday people. They moved out of the studio and into the open air (en plein air) to observe the transient effects of sunlight on objects. This was a radical departure from the controlled environment of the academic studio.

The technical aspects of their work were equally revolutionary. They used short, thick, visible brushstrokes to capture the essence of the subject. Colors were applied with as little mixing as possible, a technique that allowed the viewer’s eye to “mix” the colors, resulting in more vibrant and luminous images. The Académie saw this technique as sloppy and unfinished. When their work was perpetually rejected by the official Salon exhibition, the artists organized their own independent exhibition in 1874.

It was at this exhibition that the movement got its name. One of Claude Monet’s paintings was titled Impression, soleil levant (Impression, Sunrise). A hostile critic, Louis Leroy, seized upon this title to mock the entire group’s work in his review, titling it “The Exhibition of the Impressionists.” He described their paintings as mere sketches, unfinished and barely legible. The artists, however, ironically embraced the name as a badge of honor for their new style. The critic’s insult inadvertently gave the movement its identity.

Initially, the Impressionists faced significant public ridicule and financial hardship. Their work was seen as an assault on the established standards of artistic beauty and skill. However, the movement’s focus on light, color, and contemporary life eventually won over a new generation of collectors and critics. The Impressionists fundamentally altered the course of Western art, paving the way for more abstract movements in the twentieth century. They dismantled the old hierarchy of subject matter and demonstrated that the artist’s personal vision and technique were as important as the subject itself.