Impressionism. Sometimes the paintings are quiet and mysterious, and somewhat abstract, like Monet’s Houses of Parliament in the Fog, 1903. Others explode with color, almost creating a riot, even in a rare, small Degas landscape. Some celebrate aristocrats or the working class at play or a prim and proper, beautiful young woman fixing her bonnet. Whether the paintings shine the light on exciting Paris, New York cityscapes, or scenes of the Seine, each one reveals a unique image of modern life.

The High Museum of Art in Atlanta has a marvelous collection of French and American Impressionism, which it has graciously lent to the Muscarelle Museum of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg. This gem of an exhibition, Seeing Colors: Secrets of the Impressionists is now on view through early 2012.

A group of French painters in 1874 showed their disdain for the orderly, academic, stylized approach to the paintings of their 18th- and 19th-century predecessors. They turned away from religious, historical, and mythological subjects, looking to depict life as it really is. The realist painters Courbet and Millet paved the way for the Barbizon artists, such as Corot and Daubigny, who were the first to take their easels out of doors and paint the greenery of nature. The Impressionists liked that idea, but went further. They became fascinated with the fleeting, changing effects of light and weather and found a way to execute shimmering light on their canvases with white underpaint and finished with broken, often unmixed dabs of color. Monet led the way, having listened carefully to his mentor Eugène Boudin, who insisted that he paint the Normandy coast outdoors en plein air, capturing as quickly as possible the transient moment. Boudin has often been called the first Impressionist.

The early Impressionists, led by Monet, were daring. Having been rejected and ridiculed by the official French Salon, they mounted their own exhibition at the studio of the famed photographer Nadar. Art critic Louis Leroy ridiculed the young painters, saying they were not really painting—they were merely creating an impression! Monet’s entry in the show then became known as Impression Sunrise. The artists continued to exhibit on their own for seven more years, picking up colleagues—and critics—on the way. Monet, Renoir, Morisot, and Sisley were joined by Bazille, Cézanne, Pissarro, Degas, and Gauguin, even though not all strictly followed the established canons of Impressionism.

The definition of Impressionism includes scenes of modern life, cityscapes, café scenes as well as well as the light-filled lush landscapes and still lifes that celebrate beauty. Edgar Degas (1834-1917), a genius of line, inspired by Ingres, never considered himself to be an Impressionist, preferring absinthe drinkers and ballet dancers. Yet he surprised his colleagues with a small Impressionist monotype Landscape with Rocks, 1892. Blazing with color, he created an uneven surface of pink, green, orange, blue, and black. Perhaps he was mindful of the scientist Chevreul’s theories on the harmony of colors and the intense effect that one color has upon another when placed side by side. Contrast Degas’ explosive painting with Claude Monet’s (1840-1926) Autumn on the Seine, Argenteuil, 1873, also in the Muscarelle show. Here the primary colors yellow and blue play upon each other to create a stunning, heightened effect. Monet often lived and painted on his floating houseboat on the Seine when in the village of Argentueil.

Fréderic Bazille (1841-1870) died at the age of 29, fighting in the Franco-Prussian War, never having fully reached his potential. Seeing Colors pays homage to him, featuring his large, horizontal, shimmering The Beach at Sainte-Adresse, 1865. It is devoid of broken dabs of color, yet it fulfills the mandate of the effects of brilliant light.

So many jewels await at the Muscarelle. Feast your eyes upon a small John Singer Sargent Portrait of Ralph Curtis on the Beach at Schevingen, 1880. He portrayed his cousin stretched out on a beach in The Netherlands, the somber grays and beiges accentuated by heightened light shining upon the sea. On the other hand, Camille Pissarro’s (1830-1903) Snowscape with Cows at Montfoucault, 1874 chills the viewer with its monotone whites and grays, yet Pissarro succeeds in depicting the luminosity of snow.

A room chock full of American Impressionism shows the influence of French Impressionists upon their friends across the pond. Childe Hassam came to Paris and painted many ville de lumière cityscapes, as well as his New York flag masterpieces. Tuileries Gardens, 1897 shows fin-de-siècle Parisians strolling alongside the Louvre.

A delicious sampler of Impressionist paintings awaits the viewer at the Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg.

Through January 22, 2012. Visit www.wm.edu/muscarelle or call 757-221-2700 for more information.

Ginger Levit is a private art dealer who also writes and broadcasts about the arts, antiques and travel. Contact her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .