Inspiring Impressionism explores links between Impressionists and the major European art-historical movements that came before them, demonstrating how often beneath the Impressionists? commitment to capturing contemporary life there lay a deep exploration of the art of the past. Presenting Impressionist works by artists including Manet, Monet, Degas, Bazille, Cassatt, and Cézanne alongside those of Raphael, El Greco, Rubens, Velázquez, and others, the book shows that while the Impressionists moved toward modernity and spontaneity, they remained conscious of and interested in the traditions, techniques, and subject matter of their predecessors.

Essays by leading scholars reveal the ways Impressionists drew inspiration from earlier artists from periods ranging from the Italian Renaissance through the early 19th-century Classical and Romantic traditions. A detailed chronology and fascinating comparisons of landscapes, portraits, nudes, still lifes, and genre paintings provide readers with new opportunities to understand the work of both the Impressionists and Old Masters.