Defining Impressionism

When defining impressionism, one cannot avoid defining the concept of the impression. A first impression, a fleeting memory, the perception of a moment, or perhaps an instinctual sensation, the concept of the impression seems to be defined fairly differently even among the Impressionist artists. In psychology, there is a very distinct difference between perception and sensation. Sensation connotes the translation of the physical world to the senses, and only the senses. However, perception deals with the cognitive processes that combine those senses with memories, experiences, moods, and other internal factors to produce an opinion or final observation. Smith describes some Impressionist’s view of “the impression” as a mode more comparable to perception, “every individual brought her or his personal stock of memories, associations, and feelings to what she or he saw” (Smith 21) Whereas Monet’s view of the “impression” is that it is purely a vehicle of describing the physical senses. The line between sensation and perception seems to be very blurry in Impressionism, are emotion and experience incorporated into the artist’s depiction of an impression?
As we continue our discussion of reality in art, we must ask how does Impressionism relate to the depiction of reality. Impressionism seems to abandon the idea that an image is objective and governed by the rules of physics and mathematics, but creating an image of space relies on ones personal reality, which instead is governed by the physical senses of the individual. As a kid, I visited Monet’s garden a few times, and remember learning that his garden served as a significant inspiration for his artwork. Looking back on it, I now have a bit better of an understanding as to why. Something such as a beautiful and luscious garden would be particularly inspirational to an Impressionist artist as it is a place that floods the senses. Nature is filled with sights, colors, sounds, smells, and movements and could potentially make it easier to make a sketch purely based on those senses, uncluttered by personal feelings.