IMPRESSIONISM (c. 1860 - 1900)

by Jo Colley 13:13 0 comments

Impressionism is considered to be the art movement that revolutionized painting in recent centuries, modernizing it in a way that meant it could translate into the 20th Century and beyond. It threw away the rules of traditional art and became instrumental to the art of the late 19th Century in regards to it's trend of painting scenes of everyday life and the new way it played with light and use of colours and tone. This changed the tone of art and opened it up to a fresh narrative. 

The basis for Impressionist art is considered to be contemporary life in an objective manner, describing colour as created by light and being subject to "constant change". Artists that were vital to the direction of this art movement include Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Edgar Degas and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. These artists shaped the modern way we paint today and the way in which we use paint and create brush marks.

"La Moulin de la Galette" by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, painted in 1876 using
Oil on Canvas.

Subject Matter

Impressionism sought to capture the very moment of observation, as if a snapshot is taken in time for a truly ordinary and contemporary scene; these scenes included parties, landscapes, railway stations and other aspects of life. 

An important component of the subject matter of the Impressionist era, was that paintings would be completed almost entirely from observation, meaning that some had to be painted plein-air, indicating that a painting was completed outside in the open air. This meant not only that the painting would be influenced by the outdoors, e.g. damaged, dusted with sand but that they would have only a limited amount of time to be painted often appearing as unfinished.

"The Beach at Trouville" painted by Claude Monet, 1870.

The Beach at Trouville series by Impressionist painter Claude Monet is an example of an artist working en-plein air, evidenced by the fact that there was sand dusted in the layers of paint, uniquely changing it's texture. It can be deduced by the qualities of the painting such as quick brush strokes, thick layering of paint and slightly abstract line that the painting was quickly sketched and completed, with a focus on the light rather than perfecting other skills.

Unusual Viewpoints

The artist Claude Monet in particular was one to paint an image from an alternate viewpoint, even purchasing a boat in order to sail down the river while painting the riverbank's scenery. The painting was named Autumn Effect at Argenteuil in 1872. While this image was painted, Edouard Manet painted the fellow Impressionist's environment as he painted the image. This artwork was named Claude Monet working on his Boat in Argenteuil, painted in 1874. Unusual viewpoints allowed a new avenue of perspective. 

"Claude Monet working on his Boat in Argenteuil" by Edouard Manet, painted
in 1874.

The image above, painted of Claude Monet, illustrates how the artist would observe a landscape and translate it onto a canvas. In this instance, Monet is seated on a boat, with a viewpoint from the water to the bank. The movement of the boat makes specific requirements of the painting; the brushstrokes and lines must be made fast and the painter must be able to depict the changing qualities of light, combining the images he sees.

Visible Brush Strokes

The texture of a painting was largely important, partially by circumstance and partly by choice. Think painterly brush strokes were incidental as they were a product of applying paint quickly to the surface of the canvas, but also necessary as the thick application of oils was a preference of Impressionist painters in the attempt to create light through a multitude of colours. 

An example of such a painting San Giorgio Maggiore at Dusk painted by Claude Monet in 1908. It shows the short, distinct brush marks that were a signature of the Impressionist period. The artist also uses these interwoven brush marks to mix colours and give that quality of changing light. 

"San Giorgio Maggoire at Dusk", painted by Claude Monet in 1908.

Prismatic Colours

Prismatic Colours, when applied to the art of Impressionism, refers to the mixing of coloured paints when the two paints are placed side-by-side upon the canvas. When the two colours appear to mix, they appear to the eye to be making a new colour, despite the artist making the attempt not to blend the two colours beforehand.

One of the most well known paintings that uses this method of mixing basic colours placed side by side is Claude Monet's Rue Montorgueil, Paris, Festival of June 30, painted in 1878. In this painting it can be seen as similar to an optical illusion in the sense that the colours blend and mix with almost a 3D quality just by being placed at such a close proximity to one other. This means that there is a shift in the way that light is represented in Impressionist painting.

Claude Monet's "Rue Montorgueil, Paris, Festival
of June 30, 1878" painted by oil on canvas.

Shade and Use of Grey Tones

To Impressionist artists, the use of black paint is of limits. Black is not a considered a colour that is found everyday, and stops an artist from being able to represent light as the existence of black is only possible where light is absent. In works of 'Pure Impressionism' the use of black was ultimately avoided, while complementary colour and greying tones would be used to represent this absence of light and shadow. 

Once again, Claude Monet's work gives the best examples of the use of grey rather than black tones in paint, with complementary colours creating dull tones, celebrating the idea of the ever changing qualities of light. Specifically, The Gare St-Lazare, painted in 1877, depicting a train at a French Railway Station. The dark tones are easy to come by, which Monet represents, but does not let this be depicted with the absence of light in places, often using shades of blue to portray the body of the train and lighter blues for the smoke and shadows inside the station. 

"The Gare St-Lazare" station painted by Claude Monet series, 1877.

Open Composition

An open composition, as easily emphasised by Edgar Degas than by any other artist of the Impressionist period. This took inspiration from early photography as it would cut off a composition from the canvas while alluding to more beyond the limits of the canvas. 

For instance, Place de la Concorde, a painting by Edgar Degas in 1875 has figures that extend beyond the canvas, so it cannot be seen fully. However, not completely obscured by the canvas, Degas achieves a photography-like quality in his compositions.

"Place de la Concorde" painted by Edgar Degas in 1875 in Oil on Canvas.

The Father of Impressionism - Camille Pissarro

A Danish-French Impressionist, Camille Pissarro is considered to be both the pioneer and the Father of Impressionism. Beginning in 1855 under the study of the masters of Realism, he developed his skills under such artists as Corot and Courbet. Common themes explored by Pissarro include scenes of true French life, of both the urban and the rural regions, particularly Montmartre and Pontoise. However, much of his more personal work was more politically motivated in a similar way to the realist masters, revealing his communist beliefs. 

"Boulevard Montmartre at Night" by Camille Pissarro, painted in 1897.

The image above emphasises the qualities of Impressionist painting that were key to it's existence, playing specifically with the element of light by using warm and cold colours intermingled to give a blended sense of light indicative of urban life in Montmartre. The artist also uses some of the thickest and distinct brush marks of any painter in the period, giving off a slight quality not very different from pointillism, another aspect of Impressionism explored by artists such as Seurat and Signac.

Ultimately, Impressionism is the art movement that allowed modern painting to become the concept that it is today. It promoted new idea; artists beginning to paint in the open air, being situated in increasingly unusual viewpoints, while constantly maintaining a speed of painting that used the changing light to their advantage. The use of light and the way in which colour created such tricks to they eye is emphasized by the first creation of Chevreul's Colour Wheel, looking at complementary colours. Key artists include Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro and Edouard Manet.