Clark Art Institute exhibition studies less-explored aspects of Impressionist works

Prints and drawings comprised nearly half of the works included in the eight Impressionist exhibitions held in Paris between 1874 and 1886. Today, however, Impressionism is usually understood as a celebration of the primacy of oil painting. The Impressionist Line: From Degas to Toulouse-Lautrec challenges this perception, exploring the Impressionists’ substantial—and often experimental—contributions to the graphic arts. The new exhibition of thirty-nine works on paper, on view at the Clark Art Institute November 5, 2017–January 7, 2018, showcases the hallmarks of the “Impressionist line” from the movement’s precursors in the 1860s through post-Impressionist art of the 1890s. The Impressionist Line is drawn from the Clark’s collection of more than 6,000 works on paper. Artists represented in the exhibition include Charles-François Daubigny, Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Mary Cassatt, Camille Piss