The book of famous French art historians, curators of the collections of the Louvre and the Museum of Eugne Delacroix gives a wide panorama of the European fine arts of the second half of the XIX - early XX centuries. The way of thinking, artistic research and creative burning of the French impressionists, their predecessors and followers in other countries are becoming closer and clearer thanks to the extensive factual material cited by the authors. Extracts from articles by journalists, critics and collectors - contemporaries of the Impressionists - recreate the atmosphere of the acute struggle of young artists for new art. The publication is illustrated and designed for a wide range of readers.