In its day, impressionism was considered a radical break with the traditions of art—an attack on the establishment. It was perceived as unfinished and unpolished. Critics found its use of bright color shocking to the eye and were confused by its elevation of the everyday. Monet, Degas, Renoir, Pissarro, and other artists who were pivotal to this first movement of modern art changed the very nature of how we think about art today.