diff --git a/pandas/io/formats/style.py b/pandas/io/formats/style.py
index 69021eb2656f6..8212b50594842 100644
--- a/pandas/io/formats/style.py
+++ b/pandas/io/formats/style.py
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
-from contextlib import contextmanager
 import copy
 from functools import partial
 import operator
@@ -56,7 +55,6 @@
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from collections.abc import (
-        Generator,
         Hashable,
         Sequence,
     )
@@ -84,22 +82,6 @@
 
     from pandas import ExcelWriter
 
-try:
-    import matplotlib as mpl
-    import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
-
-    has_mpl = True
-except ImportError:
-    has_mpl = False
-
-
-@contextmanager
-def _mpl(func: Callable) -> Generator[tuple[Any, Any], None, None]:
-    if has_mpl:
-        yield plt, mpl
-    else:
-        raise ImportError(f"{func.__name__} requires matplotlib.")
-
 
 ####
 # Shared Doc Strings
@@ -3832,61 +3814,61 @@ def _background_gradient(
     else:  # else validate gmap against the underlying data
         gmap = _validate_apply_axis_arg(gmap, "gmap", float, data)
 
-    with _mpl(Styler.background_gradient) as (_, _matplotlib):
-        smin = np.nanmin(gmap) if vmin is None else vmin
-        smax = np.nanmax(gmap) if vmax is None else vmax
-        rng = smax - smin
-        # extend lower / upper bounds, compresses color range
-        norm = _matplotlib.colors.Normalize(smin - (rng * low), smax + (rng * high))
+    smin = np.nanmin(gmap) if vmin is None else vmin
+    smax = np.nanmax(gmap) if vmax is None else vmax
+    rng = smax - smin
+    _matplotlib = import_optional_dependency(
+        "matplotlib", extra="Styler.background_gradient requires matplotlib."
+    )
+    # extend lower / upper bounds, compresses color range
+    norm = _matplotlib.colors.Normalize(smin - (rng * low), smax + (rng * high))
+
+    if cmap is None:
+        rgbas = _matplotlib.colormaps[_matplotlib.rcParams["image.cmap"]](norm(gmap))
+    else:
+        rgbas = _matplotlib.colormaps.get_cmap(cmap)(norm(gmap))
+
+    def relative_luminance(rgba) -> float:
+        """
+        Calculate relative luminance of a color.
+
+        The calculation adheres to the W3C standards
+        (https://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/wiki/Relative_luminance)
+
+        Parameters
+        ----------
+        color : rgb or rgba tuple
+
+        Returns
+        -------
+        float
+            The relative luminance as a value from 0 to 1
+        """
+        r, g, b = (
+            x / 12.92 if x <= 0.04045 else ((x + 0.055) / 1.055) ** 2.4
+            for x in rgba[:3]
+        )
+        return 0.2126 * r + 0.7152 * g + 0.0722 * b
 
-        if cmap is None:
-            rgbas = _matplotlib.colormaps[_matplotlib.rcParams["image.cmap"]](
-                norm(gmap)
+    def css(rgba, text_only) -> str:
+        if not text_only:
+            dark = relative_luminance(rgba) < text_color_threshold
+            text_color = "#f1f1f1" if dark else "#000000"
+            return (
+                f"background-color: {_matplotlib.colors.rgb2hex(rgba)};"
+                f"color: {text_color};"
             )
         else:
-            rgbas = _matplotlib.colormaps.get_cmap(cmap)(norm(gmap))
-
-        def relative_luminance(rgba) -> float:
-            """
-            Calculate relative luminance of a color.
-
-            The calculation adheres to the W3C standards
-            (https://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/wiki/Relative_luminance)
-
-            Parameters
-            ----------
-            color : rgb or rgba tuple
-
-            Returns
-            -------
-            float
-                The relative luminance as a value from 0 to 1
-            """
-            r, g, b = (
-                x / 12.92 if x <= 0.04045 else ((x + 0.055) / 1.055) ** 2.4
-                for x in rgba[:3]
-            )
-            return 0.2126 * r + 0.7152 * g + 0.0722 * b
-
-        def css(rgba, text_only) -> str:
-            if not text_only:
-                dark = relative_luminance(rgba) < text_color_threshold
-                text_color = "#f1f1f1" if dark else "#000000"
-                return (
-                    f"background-color: {_matplotlib.colors.rgb2hex(rgba)};"
-                    f"color: {text_color};"
-                )
-            else:
-                return f"color: {_matplotlib.colors.rgb2hex(rgba)};"
+            return f"color: {_matplotlib.colors.rgb2hex(rgba)};"
 
-        if data.ndim == 1:
-            return [css(rgba, text_only) for rgba in rgbas]
-        else:
-            return DataFrame(
-                [[css(rgba, text_only) for rgba in row] for row in rgbas],
-                index=data.index,
-                columns=data.columns,
-            )
+    if data.ndim == 1:
+        return [css(rgba, text_only) for rgba in rgbas]
+    else:
+        return DataFrame(
+            [[css(rgba, text_only) for rgba in row] for row in rgbas],
+            index=data.index,
+            columns=data.columns,
+        )
 
 
 def _highlight_between(
@@ -4124,20 +4106,22 @@ def css_calc(x, left: float, right: float, align: str, color: str | list | tuple
     rgbas = None
     if cmap is not None:
         # use the matplotlib colormap input
-        with _mpl(Styler.bar) as (_, _matplotlib):
-            cmap = (
-                _matplotlib.colormaps[cmap]
-                if isinstance(cmap, str)
-                else cmap  # assumed to be a Colormap instance as documented
-            )
-            norm = _matplotlib.colors.Normalize(left, right)
-            rgbas = cmap(norm(values))
-            if data.ndim == 1:
-                rgbas = [_matplotlib.colors.rgb2hex(rgba) for rgba in rgbas]
-            else:
-                rgbas = [
-                    [_matplotlib.colors.rgb2hex(rgba) for rgba in row] for row in rgbas
-                ]
+        _matplotlib = import_optional_dependency(
+            "matplotlib", extra="Styler.bar requires matplotlib."
+        )
+        cmap = (
+            _matplotlib.colormaps[cmap]
+            if isinstance(cmap, str)
+            else cmap  # assumed to be a Colormap instance as documented
+        )
+        norm = _matplotlib.colors.Normalize(left, right)
+        rgbas = cmap(norm(values))
+        if data.ndim == 1:
+            rgbas = [_matplotlib.colors.rgb2hex(rgba) for rgba in rgbas]
+        else:
+            rgbas = [
+                [_matplotlib.colors.rgb2hex(rgba) for rgba in row] for row in rgbas
+            ]
 
     assert isinstance(align, str)  # mypy: should now be in [left, right, mid, zero]
     if data.ndim == 1: