In 1848 the official French Art Academy and École des Beaux-Arts were challenged by new perceptions of not only what to paint but how to paint, beginning with the movement of Realism initiated by Gustave Courbet and furthered by Manet, Monet, and other Impressionists.  What economic, social, and political changes fed this artistic revolution, even to the extent of how paintings were bought and sold in new capitalist markets? How did they strive to express “modernity,” leading us now to view Impressionist art as the gateway to Modernist movements?  Furthermore, if Impressionism can be interpreted as a prelude to modern art, can it not also be viewed as a postlude as well, that is, the last of the great western European art styles based on a perception of harmony and natural vision? We will attempt to answer these questions concluding with Monet’s huge murals of the Nympheas (Waterlillies) of 1923.