Impressionist Women

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Images of women played a significant role in this new 'realist' interpretation of the world; they are now represented not as dim, mythical figures, but as real creatures of flesh and blood, whatever their position in the social hierarchy. The elegant society hostess and the modern bourgeois women enjoying a boating trip to Argentenil; the barmaid in one of Manet's noisy cafes and the Degas laundress; even the tart lounging lasciviously amidst the plush reds of the whore house - the Impressionists described all these women, to create a colourful and vived picture of Paris in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Moreover, the numerous portraits painted by these artists of their families and friends offer us an intimate view of the close-knit community called the Impressionist circle.