Inventing Impressionism review – a superb exhibition in every respect

National Gallery, London
In this enthralling selection of the radical impressionist masterpieces he bought in bulk, Paul Durand-Ruel emerges as the inventor of the modern art industryThe man who invented impressionism was not a painter but a dealer – a silk-hatted monarchist with a taste for ormolu clocks who created a market for paintings that nobody liked. Paul Durand-Ruel was the saviour of Manet, Monet and Pissarro. For years he was the only dealer brave enough to promote the impressioni