1
Impressionism
2
Impressionism
• The movement has its roots in: Romanticism (feelings and emotions) AND the Realists (challenging the academies)
• The term is coined from a Monet painting titled, Impression: Sunrise
• The Impressionists exhibited together at eight shows between 1874 and 1886 (this does not mean they were always in complete agreement with each other!)
• Painting captures an impression—a moment
• Brushwork: short and choppy
• The effects of light on color! Plein Air (painting outside)
• Limited use of black paint—Shadows created with dark green, blue, purple, and brown
• Juxtaposition of complementary colors to create vibrancy
• Creative, cropped compositions with unusual angles
• For most, the Parisian middle class--bourgeoisie
Impressionists: What they have in Common
• Originally used for the French military—the units that advanced further from the troops
• In art, those that led the way with bold concepts and works— “Ahead of the mainstream”
• Generally, they were misunderstood by the public and rejected by the salons
• When a style becomes mainstream (Impressionism does in the 1890s), it’s no longer considered avant-garde
The Avant-Garde
5
CLAUDE MONET, Impression: Sunrise, 1872*. Oil on canvas, 1’ 7 1/2” x 2’ 1 1/2”. Musée Marmottan, Paris.
• At 19, moves to Paris but rejects the conventional training of the Ecole des Beaux Arts, instead choosing the more relaxed private schools
• His wealthy family cuts him off, his wife dies and leaves him with two children, so he moves to Giverny
• In 1890, he buys property in Giverny and employs six gardeners
• Towards the end of his life, lives like a recluse with extremely failing eyesight
Monet
7
CLAUDE MONET, Rouen Cathedral: The Portal (in Sun), 1894*. Oil on canvas, 3’ 3 1/4” x 2’ 1 7/8”. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
10
CLAUDE MONET, Saint-Lazare Train Station, 1877*. Oil on canvas, 2’ 5 3/4” x 3’ 5”. Musée d’Orsay, Paris. (Industrialization )
11
GUSTAVE CAILLEBOTTE, Paris: A Rainy Day, 1877*. Oil on canvas, 6’ 9” x 9’ 9”. The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago
• Wealthy engineer and boat builder who befriends the Impressionists
• Helped to finance Impressionist exhibitions and collected more than 60 pieces of their work—these were left to the French people when he died
• Although not with loose brushwork, subject matter and composition make it an Impressionist work
Caillebotte
13
PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR, Le Moulin de la Galette, 1876*. Oil on canvas, 4’ 3” x 5’ 8”. Musée d’Orsay, Paris.
• Most famous for genre paintings of the bourgeoisie of Paris (females)
• Friends with Monet
• Used the model, Suzanne Valadon in paintings
• In 1892, developed severe rheumatoid arthritis but continued to paint for over twenty years
RENOIR
16
ÉDOUARD MANET, Bar at the Folies-Bergère, 1882*. Oil on canvas, 3’ 1” x 4’ 3”. Courtauld Institute of Art Gallery, London.
• Influences Impressionism and in turn, they influence him
• Never exhibited with the Impressionists
• His style is hard to pinpoint (Realism? Impressionism?)
• Died at age 51, after complications due to syphilis and arthritis
MANET WITH IMPRESSIONISM
• Focused on the female like Renoir
• Classically trained (outstanding draughtsman). Considered an Impressionist but rejected the term for “realist” instead
• Known for interior scenes—not “plein air” and did not adopt the same brushwork
• Although his works looks “spontaneous”, he produced MANY sketches beforehand but photography also affects his composition
• Later, his compositions adopt a “peering through a keyhole” approach and are influenced by Japanese woodblock prints
DEGAS
19
EDGAR DEGAS, Ballet Rehearsal, 1874*. Oil on canvas, 1’ 11” x 2’ 9”. Glasgow Art Galleries and Museum, Glasgow
Degas, The Rehearsal on Stage, c.1874*, pastel over brush and ink
Metropolitan Museum of Art
• American (studied in Philadelphia), ex-patriot in Paris
• Degas encouraged her to participate in the 4th Impressionist exhibition
• Both Degas and Cassatt did not paint “en plein air”—focused on the domestic and social life of wealthy women
• Influenced by Degas and Japanese prints
WOMEN ARTISTS DURING IMPRESSIONISM
23
MARY CASSATT, The Bath, ca. 1892*. Oil on canvas, 3’ 3” x 2’ 2”. The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago
Mary Cassatt
Maternal Caress
1891*
Drypoint, soft-ground etching, and aquatint on paper
• Married to Eduoard Manet’s brother
• Exhibited with the Impressionists
• Focused on outdoor leisure of Parisian middle-class (weekends to resorts at sea or the Seine)—with a sense of melancholy
• Most paintings contain a main female figure, loose brushwork, natural light and color
Morisot
26
BERTHE MORISOT, Villa at the Seaside, 1874*. Oil on canvas, 1’ 7 3/4” x 2’ 1/8". Norton Simon Art Foundation, Los Angeles.
27
Japonisme
• In 1850, Japan opens itself to trade with the west
• Culture captivates Parisians: Japonisme
• A large exhibition of Japanese wood-block prints in 1890 influences ENORMOUSLY!
• Ukiyo-e— “floating world”
• These prints are inexpensive and many Impressionists collected them
Japanese Wood-block Prints
Hokusai, The Great Wave off Kanagawa, ca. 1826-1833
Left: EDGAR DEGAS, The Tub, 1886. Pastel, 1’ 11 ½” X 2’ 8 3/8”. Musee d’Orsay, Paris. Right: TORII KIYONAGA, detail of Two Women at the Bath, ca. 1780. Color woodblock, full print 10 ½” X 7 ½”, detail 3 ¾” X 3 ½”. Musee Guimet, Paris. 30
Monet with his collection of ukiyo-e