Impressionism Origin Irises by Van Gogh Impressionism Origin
Impressionist Paintings
Impressionism Origin

The word impressionist was first used mockingly by a journalist to describe a painting by Monet in 1874 entitled Impression: Sunrise. Many artists recognized their style in the word "impressionism" and continued to use the term. Impressionist painters are highly respected today for their talent and innovative genius. Most impressionist
paintings were painted between 1867 and 1886. The impressionist movement was touched off by painter Edouard Manet's Luncheon on the Grass, which was exhibited in 1863. Manet himself was not an impressionist, but his work influenced a group of painters who rejected the conventional techniques and concepts of painting. This group, consisting of Claude Monet, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, Alfred Sisley, Berthe Morisot, Armand Guillaumin, and Frederic Bazille, did not see a painting as a fixed record of an object or landscape. Instead, Impressionist painters tried to capture a moment in time because objects and landscapes look different at different times of the day.


They aimed to reproduce immediate visual impressions rather than paint something as it would normally look. The main characteristic of impressionism was an attempt to record the transient effects of light and color. Thus, painters would paint different versions of the same subject, but in different lights. Claude Monet, especially, did not tire of painting the same scenes over and over again at different times of the day. His series of paintings of Rouen Cathedral exemplifies the impressionist philosophy very well. Since the official Salon of the French Academy consistently rejected their works, the impressionists held their own exhibitions. The first show took place in 1874. Altogether, there were eight shows until 1886. The group dissolved afterward because the members wanted to pursue their own interests in painting techniques and subject matter. Impressionism lasted only twenty years, but it left a lasting legacy in the history of art. Today, impressionist paintings are exhibited in museum all over the world, including the United States, and are highly prized by art collectors. Post impressionist artists, such as Gogh, Edgar Degas, and Paul Gauguin, were influenced by the impressionist movement and produced a body of work that represents the best in modern art.

Extract from “Countries Of The World France”, Written by Roseline Ngcheong-Lum. Times Edition Pte Ltd. Singapore, 1999.

Impressionism

is so widely loved today that it is hard to imagine the fury it provoked when its artists first showed their work in Paris. The appearance of Edouard Manet's Luncheon on the Grass in an 1863 exhibition touched off the revolutionary new art movement. It was Claude Monet who gave the movement its name, from his 1872 An Impression, Sunrise. The Impressionists organized eight of their own exhibitions in the 1870s and 1880s. The artists included Claude Monet, Sisley, Pissarro, Renoir, and Degas. Although the interests and styles of the individual artists differed, they cooperated in showing their work and greatly influenced one another. The Impressionists stressed color and composition over story content, emotions, and symbols. They worked outdoors, used small canvases, and made freer brush strokes to capture the quickly changing atmosphere. Collectors delight in the Impressionist images of light and color, sunny landscapes and shimmering water. Among the most fascinating Impressionist are Claude Monet series of pictures of poplar trees, haystacks, water lilies, and Rouen Cathedral. He painted the same scenes at different times of the day, trying to capture the fleeting effects of light on the ever changing natural world. Renoir was known for sensuous, colorful pictures of pretty women and children and joyous crowd scenes. Degas portrayed bathers and dancers. An assortment of painting styles and subjects characterized the many great Post Impressionist artists who followed: Toulouse Lautrec's Moulin Rouge cabaret dancers painting, Cezanne's landscapes painting that so greatly influenced cubism, Gauguin's exotic scenes of South Sea Islanders painting, and Van Gogh colorful, often tortured still lifes and portraits painting. Van Gogh and Gauguin moved beyond Impressionism to use color for its emotional, expressive, and decorative elements. After a long struggle for recognition, Impressionist and Post Impressionist received great critical approval and now sell for very high prices.

Extract from “Cultures Of The World France”, Written by Etbel Caro Gofen. Times Editions Pte Ltd, Singapore: 1999.
 
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Fri Jul 3 23:19:22 2009