Within painting, many millennia of two-dimensional representations have recorded the thoughts and history of those who are creative and those who wanted history to be recorded in the image they decided it was suitable. The boundaries that separate painting into defined movements can be vague because they represent the works of a culture such as Greek or well-defined and distinct because some movements were dictated by churches, governments, and other bodies of influence. Impressionism is a movement composed of works from a culture in which the enlightenment of the masses caused "a group of artists who shared a number of related approaches and techniques" to emerge and coalesce into a new school of thought ("Impressionism" ). This article will examine the works of three artists who painted in the Impressionist style; Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Claude Monet. These famous Impressionists may have had common influences and beginnings, yet these artists differ from each other in their unique expressive styles. Impressionism began in the late 19th century as a result of friendships cultivated in Paris, France, at the Café Guerbois between four students of Marc Gleyre. including Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley and Frédéric Bazille with other Parisian artists such as Edgar Degas and Edouard Manet ("Impressionism"). Their collective style was largely characterized by attempts to “represent transitory visual impressions, often painted directly from nature, and by the use of pure, broken colors to achieve brilliance and luminosity.” ("Impressionism") Those considered part of the Impressionist movement were involved for various parts of their artistic careers for exhibition purposes ra...... middle of paper...... Each artist had a very distinct style that distinguishes the their expression of impressions. ReferenceBallet class. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.paintingmania.com/ballet-class-124_2973.html Claude Monet's Impression of Dawn. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.webexhibits.org/colorart/monet.htmlDegas Style and Technique:. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.degas-painting.info/degasstyle.htmImpressionism. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/glo/impressionism/Impressionism. The free farlex dictionary. Retrieved April 18, 2011, from http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/impressionismLuncheon of the boating party. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.renoirgallery.com/gallery.asp?id=165Preble, D., Frank, P., & Preble, S. (2008). Prebles' Art Forms: An Introduction to the Visual Arts (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.