Through 170 works, this catalogue analyzes the relationship between Impressionism and nature from an innovative angle. For the first time, the extraordinary pictorial innovations of the Impressionists are seen against a broader understanding of the nature, culture and modernity of the time. In other words, the Impressionists not only visually recorded the impact of modernity on the French landscape, but they also embraced a new holistic viewpoint which revealed the dynamism and condition of every social and natural system. The works trace the development of the representation of nature in French nineteenth century painting, beginning with the early innovations to classic norms brought about by painters of the Barbizon school, followed by a thorough exploration of the revolution caused by the great masters of Impressionism such as Monet, Sisley and Pissarro, and ending with the chromatic triumph of Monet’s Waterlilies. More than 170 works are reproduced, including paintings, works on paper and period photographs, which come from some of the most important museums, galleries and private collections throughout the world.