The name 'Impressionism' started as a mean joke by a critic to mock Claude Monet's painting style.

The first Impressionist exhibition opened on April 15, 1874, in Paris. It featured 165 works by 30 different artists. Claude Monet showed a painting called Impression, Sunrise, which showed the harbor of Le Havre at dawn. Most people at the time preferred art with sharp lines and realistic details.On April 25, 1874, a critic named Louis Leroy wrote a harsh review in a newspaper. He joked that even unrolled wallpaper looked more finished than Monet's painting. He used the word 'Impression' to suggest the artists were lazy and lacked skill. The artists decided to use the insult as their official group name.Monet's painting used quick brushstrokes to show how light looked at a specific moment. In 2014, a scientist named Donald Olson studied the sun and tides in the painting. He used weather records from 1872 to find the exact time Monet painted the scene. The study showed it was November 13, 1872, at 7:35 AM.This research proves Monet was painting a real event he saw. His style focused on how color and light change throughout the day. This new way of painting broke the old rules of the French Academy of Fine Arts. It eventually became one of the most famous art styles in history.