Perhaps the most beloved art movement of all time, Impressionism had its roots in France but soon inspired artists around the world. This new book documents that explosion in Russia, unveiling canvases that resonate with the pure color, sparkling light, and lively depictions of everyday life that characterize Impressionism at its best.

Chosen from the holdings of the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, the works displayed in this handsome volume focus on a chapter in Russia's rich cultural history that has been too long overlooked. Now, the broad range of Russian Impressionism is made abundantly clear in 340 lush colorplates and in illuminating essays. The superb paintings, most rarely or never published before, make this collection an essential addition to any art lover's library.

VLADIMIR KRUGLOV, an art historian and leading curator at the State Russian Museum, has published extensively on the history of Russian art.

VLADIMIR LENYASHIN is currently head of the late 19th- and early 20th-century painting department at the State Russian Museum and is a professor at the Ilya Repin Institute of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture in St. Petersburg.

340 illustrations in full color, 81/2 x 14"