IMPRESSIONISM

Impressionism was a 19th century art movement that began as a loose association of Paris-based artists who began publicly exhibiting their art in the 1860s. The name of the movement is derived from Claude Monet's Impression, Sunrise (Impression, soleil levant). Critic Louis Leroy inadvertently coined the term in a satiric review published in Le Charivari.

Impression, Sunrise

The influence of Impressionist thought spread beyond the art world, leading to Impressionist music and Impressionist literature.

Characteristics of impressionist painting include visible brushstrokes, light colors, open composition, emphasis on light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time), ordinary subject matter, and unusual visual angles.

Impressionism also describes art done in this style, but outside of the late 19th century time period.

Radicals in their time, early impressionists broke the picture-making rules of academic painting. They began by painting driven by colours, rather than by line, drawing from the work of painters such as Eugene Delacroix. They also began from unique working methods, such as painting outside of the studio for subjects such as the still life and portrait. The techniques of impressionism gradually grew more specific to the movement, and encompassed what its adherents argued was a different way of seeing. They painted "en plein air" (outdoors) rather than in a studio as was the custom, capturing the momentary and transient aspects of sunlight.

By the last years of the 19th century, the public came to believe that these artists had captured a fresh and original vision that was highly skilled, even if it did not meet with approval of the artistic establishment. The impressionists looked to beauty in candid poses and compositions, in the play of light and in a bright and varied use of colour.

Impressionist paintings feature short, "broken" brush strokes of pure, untinted and unmixed colour. Compositions are simplified and innovative, and the emphasis is on overall effect rather than upon details. The brushstrokes increasingly became visible and part of the composition, as opposed to the then current technique of having an almost smooth surface of the canvas without visible brush strokes. Impressionism rose at the same time that other painters were also exploring methods of painting that moved away from the subjects, forms and norms that dominated the art market at that time, for example Edvard Munch.

By placing the center of artistic creation as the eye that views the subject, rather than the subject, and by creating a welter of techniques and forms, Impressionism became seminal to various movements in painting which would come after, including Post-Impressionism, Fauvism, Cubism and individual painters that were not part of an exact school, such as Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh and Paul Cezanne.

Impressionist techniques

· Short, thick strokes of paint in a sketchy way, allowing the painter to capture and emphasize the essence of the subject rather than its details.

· They left brush strokes on the canvas, adding a new dimension of familiarity with the personality of the artist for the viewer to enjoy.

· Colors with as little pigment mixing as possible, allowing the eye of the viewer to optically mix the colors as they looked at the canvas, and providing a vibrant experience for the viewer.

· Impressionists did not shade (mix with black) their colours in order to obtain darker pigments. Instead, when the artists needed darker shades, they mixed with complementary colours. (Black was used, but only as a colour in its own right.)

· They painted wet paint into the wet paint instead of waiting for successive applications to dry, producing softer edges and intermingling of color.

· Impressionist avoided the use of thin paints to create glazes which earlier artists built up carefully to produce effects. Rather, the impressionists put paint down thickly and did not rely upon layering.

· Impressionists discovered or emphasized aspects of the play of natural light, including an acute awareness of how colours reflect from object to object.

· In outdoor paintings, they boldly painted shadows with the blue of the sky as it reflected onto surfaces, giving a sense of freshness and openness that was not captured in painting previously. (Blue shadows on snow inspired the technique.)

· They worked "en plein air" (outdoors)

Previous artists occasionally used these techniques, but impressionists employed them constantly. Earlier examples are found in the works of Frans Hals, Peter Paul Rubens, John Constable, Theodore Rousseau, Gustave Courbet, Camille Corot, Eugene Boudin, and Eugène Delacroix.

Impressionists took advantage of the mid-century introduction of premixed paints in tubes (resembling modern toothpaste tubes) which allowed artists to work more spontaneously both outdoors and indoors. Previously, each painter made his or her own paints by grinding and mixing dry pigment powders with linseed oil.

1. What is Impressionism?

2. Where is the name of the movement derived from?

3. What are the characteristics of impressionist painting?

4. What were the changes that early impressionists brought to art?

1. How was what they did different from the previous styles?
2. Was their work approved by the public?
3. What do impressionist paintings feature?
4. What contribution did they make for the future movements?

Date: 2015-01-02; view: 1101