This first volume in the series focuses on aspects of Realism, Impressionism, and Post-Impressionism in Paris between 1848 and 1900. Discussing works by Courbet, Manet, Monet, Pissarro, Cezanne, Morisot, and other great painters of the period, the authors demonstrate how some historians view this art as representative of the social, historical, and economic circumstances in which it was produced, how the painterly effects of the art are evaluated, and how a feminist perspective can help to explain art works and change our perception of them.