French 19th-century art movement which tried to use contemporary scientific research into the physics of color to achieve a more exact representation of color and tone. The majority of Impressionists applied paint in small touches of pure color rather than broader strokes, thus making pictures which seemed dazzlingly brighter than those of contemporary Salon artists. They also believed in painting out of doors and in trying to catch a particular fleeting impression of color and light rather than making a synthesis in the studio. The painters connected to the movement came together just before the Franco-Prussian War of 1970-71. The First Impressionist Exhibition was held in 1874 and included work by Monet, Renoir, Sisley, Pissarro, Cézanne, Degas, Guillaumin, Boudin and Berthe Morisot.