Abstract:

In mid-nineteenth century, Impressionist painters had an unprecedented attempt in using color based on the principles of
optics. They believed that there was no inherent color of an object, and all colors that the object had were generated in the reflection of light. Because of the emphasis of light for Impression, Impressionist painters insisted on painting outdoor since the intense outdoor light offered the unprecedented brightness and color for their paintings. Impressionist painters broke the tradition, actively explored the short moment effect of light and color, made a bold reform in painting colors, used warm and cold color contrast to introduce the ambient color, opened up a new world of color performance, and completely changed the features of previous paintings.

Key words: color, Impressionism, western oil