1791 -- In Paris, the Salon exhibits works by members of the French Acadmie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture. Originally open to all artists, the advent of a jury to organize the exhibition led to a process of selection. The Salon's jury became an outlet for a narrow circle of officially approved artists. After a change in 1864, only previous winners of medals in the Salon could sit on the jury, which led to conservatism and prejudice against the Impressionist movement.1830 -- Camille Pissarro is born in St. Thomas, West Indies.
1832 -- Edouard Manet is born in Paris.
1834 -- Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas is born to a rich banker and Creole mother.
1839 -- Paul Cezanne is born in Aix-en-Provence and Alfred Sisley is born in Paris.
1840 -- Claude Monet is born in Paris.
1841 -- Berthe Morisot is born, Pierre-Auguste Renoir is born in Limoges and Armand Guillaumin is born in Paris.
1848 -- Paul Gauguin is born in Paris.
1853 -- Vincent van Gogh is born in a small village near Antwerp.
1858 -- Pissaro attends the Academie Suisse and meets Monet; in Le Havre Monet meets Eugene Boudin, who encourages him in his painting.
1862 -- Manet comes into an inheritance; he paints "La Musique aux Tuileries" and meets Degas, who is beginning to paint race scenes at Longchamp. In Paris, Cezanne fails the Ecole des Beaux-Arts entrance exam. Monet is living in Le Havre.
1863 -- Manet exhibits at Martinet's gallery in Paris. Cezanne studies at the Academie Suisse in Paris; Monet works in the forest of Fontainebleau, and Morisot works at Pontoise. On Jan. 15 the Salon des Refuses opens, a special exhibition of works refused by the Salon of 1863. It contains works by Manet, Cezanne, Pissaro, Guillaumin and James A.M. Whistler.
1865 -- Manet's second exhibition at Martinet's is well received, but "Olympia" at the Salon arouses a storm. Pissaro, Renoir and Morisot are well received at the Salon. Monet shares a studio with Frederic Bazille.
1869 -- Cafe Guerbois becomes the favorite center of the Impressionists. Monet becomes a regular at the cafe. Pissaro works at the Bougival with Renoir, who has one work accepted by the Salon.
1873 -- Manet's "Bon Bock" is well received at the Salon, and he meets Stephane Mallarme, a passionate literary proponent of Impressionism. One of Degas' pastels is bought by the American Ms. Havemeyer. Pissaro's pictures fetch fairly high prices at auction. Monet, now working in Argenteuil, takes up the plan first suggested in 1867 for a group Impressionist exhibition. Renoir enters art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel's stable, meets Guillaumin, and has a considerable success at the Exposition des Refuses.
1874 -- The first Impressionist exhibition is held in Paris. Durand-Ruel stages an Impressionist exhibition in his London gallery. Manet starts to reap the benefits of his friendship with Mallarme, who protests the Salon's rejection of Manet's paintings. Refusing to participate in the Impressionist exhibition, Manet works at Argenteuil with Monet; Renoir soon joins them.
Pissarro insists on Cezanne's participation and, though he sells one of the works he shows, Cezanne arouses derision with his "Modern Olympia." Morisot, who exhibits nine works, spends part of the year with the Manet family at Fecamp and marries Eugene, Manet's brother.
1876 -- The second Impressionist exhibition is held in Paris with 20 participants. Degas exhibits 24 works, and by bailing his brother out of financial difficulties, loses most of his personal fortune. Renoir's fortune looks good as a result of meeting George Charpentier, a patron of art and literature. Mallarme publishes a flattering article about Manet.
1877 -- The third Impressionist exhibition in Paris has 18 participants. Degas invites the American Mary Cassatt to join the group. Pissaro and Cezanne leave L'Union, a group started by Pissaro and Alfred Meyer. Monet, still in dire straits, exhibits 30 paintings, Renoir 17 and Morisot 19.
Georges Riviere edits "L'Impressioniste," a periodical defending Impressionism, during the run of the exhibition.
1879 -- The fourth Impressionist exhibition in Paris has 15 participants. Manet exhibits the works at the official Salon, though the exhibition is savaged by the art critic Joris-Karl Huysmans; all of Cezanne's entries are rejected. Pissaro invites Gauguin to submit to the group exhibition, and he shows one sculpture and seven paintings.
1880 -- Fifth exhibition in Paris; 18 participants; Manet's "Execution of the Emperor Maximilian" is exhibited successfully in the United States, and he has a one-man exhibition of pastels at La Vie Moderne in Paris; his health deteriorates.
1881 -- Sixth exhibition in Paris; 13 participants. Manet, now seriously ill, is awarded the Legion of Honor. Pissaro is working in Pontoise with Gauguin and Cezanne, who at the end of the year returns to Aix.
1882 -- Seventh exhibition in Paris; nine participants. Manet shows "Le Bar aux Folies-Bergere" at the Salon.
1883 -- Manet dies on April 30. Durand-Ruel arranges a series of one-man exhibitions in his new gallery: Monet in March, Renoir in April Pissarro in May, Sisley in June.
1886 -- Final exhibition in Paris; 17 participants. Durand-Ruel has successful American exhibition.
1890 -- Van Gogh dies at Auvers-sur-Oise.
1895 -- Morisot dies.
1899 -- Sisley dies.
1903 -- Gauguin dies at Atuana, Marquesas Islands.
1906 -- Cezanne dies.
1917 -- Degas dies.
1919 -- Renoir dies.
1926 -- Monet dies in Giverny.
1927 -- Guillaumin dies.