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"A nineteenth century movement in painting, originating
in France, aiming at the realistic representation of the play
of light in nature, purporting to render faithfully what the
artist actually saw, dispensing with the academic rules of
composition and colouring".
Edward Manet (1832-1883)
Claude Monet (1840-1926)
Camille Pissarro (1830-1903)
Edgar Degas (1834-1917)
Auguste Renoir (1841-1919)
Auguste Rondin (1840-1917) -
Sculptor
Important "Others"
Berthe Morisit (1841-1895)
Mary Cassatt
The movement spanned the 1870's and 1880's
and was founded primarily in France [Paris]
It was at
their first Impressionist exhibition (1874) that the term
"Impressionism" was coined by the art critic
Leroy in reaction to Monets' 'Impression Sunrise', he
remarked;
"Impression - I was sure of
it, I was just telling myself that, since I was impressed,
there had to be an impression in it......and what freedom,
what ease of workmanship! Wallpaper in its embryonic state
is more finished than this seascape" |
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What began as a slur became their battle cry which united
them in the face of widespread ridicule. The movement was
forged of individuals whose evolution as a group was influenced
and moulded by strong economic and social changes. Whilst
there was no espoused many characteristics and beliefs underpin
their work.
In order to gain a further understanding of the evolution
and maturation of impressionism we will consider the following
areas for investigation;
1. Historical Roots of Impressionism
2. Chief characteristics
of Impressionist paintings [Summary]
3. After Impressionism
4. Links
(The following section traces the key historical influences
which moulded the emergent impressionist movement. The format
is primarily one of discursive/narrative point form)-this
section will explore the impressionists artistic inheritance
as well as the society in which they worked.
Various attitudes shared by the Impressionists found their
roots chiefly in the works of Constable, Delacroix, the Dutch
landscape painters, Corot, Boudin and Jenykind, Courbet and
Manet.
The Impressionists, like the Romantic painters before them
shared a distaste for painting that was too formal or overworked,
what E.H Gombrich refers to as 'the fault of the faultless".
Accordingly Impressionist works were characteristically loose
and informal in both style and subject matter.
They also shared the concept of the independent artist as
a man/woman always at war with accepted opinion and continually
exploring the new and the unknown.
The romantic movement had begun the move away from historical
or religious motifs as a basis for painting, selecting instead
everyday scenes from the countryside and day to day living.
They believed that this portrayed "nature" more
faithfully than the modelling from the antique methods and
formulas of their predecessors.
The impressionists sought " truth" through their
paintings and in particular a true rendering of light and
colour. They sought truth both in their choice of and their
portrayal of a scene/image.
The traditionalists (who sought Salon acclaim) thought that
nature in the raw lacked the sense of permanence and nobility
which could only be imparted to it. It's elements were rearranged
to form an idealised whole. They also maintained that landscape
should be embellished with human figures borrowed from the
classical tradition The Salon which, until Courbet and Manet
opened their salons remained the only place where a young
painter could show his work.
Their works provide a historical
and sociological portrayed of an era where there was intense
industrialisation, depopulation of the countryside, city overcrowding
etc... and these social changes are reflected in many impressionist
works.
The painters bond with nature was often founded upon a genuine
scientific curiosity and the desire for accuracy which prompted
Degas to execute studies of different kinds of smoke and makes
of bread. Even constable executed paintings which explored
different climatic conditions where he noted the time of day
and wind direction etc... Roussean too in "Marshy Landscape"
and "Valley of Tiffange" paid great attention to
the rendering of rocks and marshy grounds whilst Ruskin in
"Modern Painters" subjects the sky and earth to
a similar scientific analysis. Even Turner had himself strapped
to the mast of a ship to observe the dynamics of of tempest.With
the acceleration of scientific knowledge, gradually, for painters
and writers alike " the true " was replacing the
beautiful as a word of praise. This change was epitomised
by Sainte - Beef - Manet's friend and one of Deja's favourite
and authors:
" The beautiful, the true, the good
is a fine slogan and yet it is
specious. If I had a slogan it
would the true, the true alone
and let the beautiful and the good
get alone as well as they can ".
This pursuit of the truth
encouraged many artists to work outdoors - plein-airism. This
requires them to workquickly and swiftly to obtain accurate
records which often resulted in the rough application of paint
andvisible choppy brushstrokes.
The scientist heralded as having the greatest impact on Impressionistic
works is Eugene Chevreul. Chevreuls research influenced the
impressionists use and application of colour. As the director
of a dyeing department in Gobelins tapestry in Paris, Chevreul
researched colour harmonies which resulted in his book "The
Principles of Harmony and contrast of Colours, and their application
in the Arts" his main observations were:
* Colours near
one another influence and modify each other.
* Any colour seen alone appear to be surrounded by a faint aureole
of its complementary colour. e.g. a
violetspot
on a white background will seem to tint its background yellow.
* Optical mixing, Chevreul, through his experiments with coloured
threads, noted that two threads of different
dye
colour appear to have a single colour when seen together at
a distance.
There is evidence that Monet and Pissaro and Femrat had first
hand knowledge of his work. It was this theory of optical
mixing which eventually lead the Impressionists to tinge shadows
with colours complementary to the colour of the object casting
the shadow. Furthermore, this theory led them to juxtapose
(place side by side) on the canvas for the eye to fuse at
a distance, thus producing colours more intense than could
be achieved by mixing on the palette. The Impressionists also
profited from the discovery the juxtapose d complementary
colours, when used in large enough areas, intensify each other,
whereas when used in small quantities they fuse into a neutral
tone.
Constables maxim "Remember that light and shadow never
stand still" is an underlying structure of the Impressionist
movement. Impressionism sought to give a true rendering of light
at a particular time - -to catch the fleeting lighting or climatic
effect. Sometimes this was done to such an extent that structural
and linear qualities became sketchy / distorted. (e.g. see Renoir:
La Gare St Lazare or Monet: Rouen Cathedral)
Another scientific advance; that of photography influenced
Impressionism. This provided the artists with different compositional
alternatives and many impressionist works have a snapshot
pictorial quality e.g. Renoir's "Moulin de la Galette".
Some feared photography would rival art but the colouring
of the Impressionists works were under no threat.
Japanese prints had also influenced Impressionist artists
and this was echoed in their use of flat areas of colour and
elimination of detail. (See "Portrait if Zola" by
Bazille).
The impressionist pictures do not tell a story, they merely
give an impression of a scene and consequently they often
appear deceptively simple. They were dedicated individuals
who were often rewarded by the ridicule of their contemporaries.
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