Terms of the Day for October 17

• Impressionism – a style of painting, developed in the late nineteenth century, that focused on casual subjects, the ability to paint outdoors, and divided brush strokes to capture the light and mood of a particular moment.
• En plein air – a French expression, meaning "in the open air", which is used to describe the act of painting outdoors.  This became particularly important to the Barbizon school and Impressionism after the introduction of paints in tubes in the 1870s
• Bourgeoisie – a term used to designate the upper middle class, specifically in France.  In the 19th century, the Bourgeoisie grew to prominence in France, establishing a culture centered around domestic models of family, leisure time, and an appreciation of the new industrialization of the modern Western world.
• Woman’s Gaze – a term which refers to the depictions of women as spectators.  This is in contrast to a great majority of images in which women are depicted as merely spectacles.