The Impressionists

Monet, Cézanne, Degas, Renoir - names familiar to any art connoisseur; authors whose works have been fiercely contested at large auctions in London and New York for several decades. But who were these people in life? What inspired artists to make new discoveries in painting and how were their famous canvases created? How to explain the endless attractiveness of their paintings, which today are pearls in the collections of the most famous museums in the world? In search of answers to these questions, the film will consider a new unique exhibition dedicated to a key figure of the art world, the inventor of impressionism as a phenomenon - the Parisian collector of the 19th century Paul Durand-Ruel. Assembled by an international group of organizers, this exhibition is perhaps the most comprehensive study of the phenomenon of Impressionism in the history of art. It was Durand-Ruel's desperate decision to organize an impressionist exhibition in New York in 1886 that not only allowed collectors to get acquainted with the works of contemporary French artists, but also, in the literal sense of the word, saved impressionism as a direction from complete collapse. The film tells not only the amazing story of this extraordinary person, but also tells about the artists themselves, as well as shows the world-loved masterpieces of Monet, Cézanne, Degas and many others.