Most art enthusiasts know the story leading up to the birth of the Impressionist movement in Paris. The year was 1874, and a group of artists who had been rejected by the stuffy, hidebound Académie des Beaux-Arts Salon showed their work in a small photographer’s studio at 35 Boulevard des Capucines. It was definitely an eclectic mix—Renoir, Cézanne, Monet, Degas, Morisot, and Sisley. But what happened in the moments leading up to their rebellious show? How did it all come together? Celebrating the 150th anniversary of Impressionism, this exhibition in Cologne looks at the crucial prelude to that breakthrough in 1874. —Elena Clavarino