Impressionism Post-impressionism Modern Art

Impressionism

19th century artistic movement that swept much of the painting and sculpture styles of the period.

Impressionism

1860s-1890s

studying effects of light on objects--how light colors shadows and dissolves objects; and transferring their observations into canvas.

Disregard for exact details of form and use of small, separate touches of pure color--techniques in complete contrast to the prevailing academic style-- aroused animosity of both the critics and the public

Landscapes and scenes from modern urban and suburban life

Pure colors

Impressionists often painted outdoors rather than in a studio

Rapidly applied brushstrokes often visible

Characteristics

to achieve appearance of spontaneity, impressionist painters used broken brush strokes of bright, often unmixed colors.

loose or densely textured surfaces rather than carefully blended colors and smooth surfaces

colors of overall luminosity because painters avoided blacks and earth colors

simplified compositions, omitting detail to achieve a striking overall effect

Salon des Refusés

The Academie held annual art exhibits that featured juried works conforming to standards.

In 1863, more than 3,000 works were rejected, far more than usual.

‘Exhibition of Rejects’, those rejected by the jury of the official Paris Salon, most famously referred to the Salon des Refusés of 1863.

Formal launching in 1874, when a group of Parisian artists mounted an exhibit at the studio of photographer/journalist Felix Nadar

Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Camille Pissarro and a few others

Subsequently joined by Paul Cezanne, Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley and Berthe Morissot

They exhibited 8 times between 1874 and 1886.

Édouard Manet

1832-1883

French painter whose work inspired the impressionist style

huge influence on French painting & general development of modern art

choice of subject matter; application of color in broad, flat patches, vigorous, sketchy brush strokes visible on the canvas

Claude Monet

Louis Leroy, an art critic, mockingly coined the term ‘impressionism’ upon seeing Impression Sunrise by Claude Monet in Paris

“Impression—I was certain of it. I was just telling Impression—I was certain of it. I was just telling

myself that, since I was impressed, there had to be myself that, since I was impressed, there had to be

some impression in it ... and what freedom, what ease some impression in it ... and what freedom, what ease

of workmanship! Wallpaper in its embryonic state is of workmanship! Wallpaper in its embryonic state is

more finished than that seascape.”more finished than that seascape.”

Claude Monet

central figure and founder of impressionism

chief interest was landscape, rendered in all kinds of weather and seasons

Girl with the Parasol

In the late years, Monet devoted himself to painting the exquisite gardens and water lily ponds he created at his home in Giverny

Saint Lazare Station

Edgar Degas

regarded as one of the founders of impressionism but he rejected the term

subject of dance and dancers

superb draftsman and masterful in depicting movement

La Toilette

The Dance Class

Camille Pissarro

Impressionist and neo-impressionist painter

‘dean of the impressionist painters’ according to John Rewald, the oldest of the group and by virtue of his wisdom and balanced, kind and warmhearted personality

insisted on painting individuals in natural settings without artifice or grandeur

the only artist to have shown his work to all 8 Paris Impressionist exhibitions

Father figure to the impressionists and post-impressionists: Georges Seurat, Paul Cezanne, Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin

Shift to Neo-impressionism

In 1885 he met Seurat and Signac, both who relied a more scientific theory of painting

small patches of pure colors create an illusion of blended colors and shading when viewed from the distance

pointillism

Pierre August Renoir

vibrant light and saturated color

people in intimate and candid compositions

freely brushed touches of color so that his figures softly fuse into one another and their surroundings

Pierre August Renoir

influence in the colorism of Delacroix, luminosity of Corot. Realism of Courbet and Manet. Admiration in Boucher. Degas’ sense of movement.

Luncheon at the Boating Party

Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette

Techniques

short, thick strokes of paint quickly capture the essence on the subject rather than the details. Paint is often applied impasto

colors applied side by side with as little mixing as possible, creating a vibrant surface

Grays and dark tones are produced by mixing complementary colors. Pure impressionism avoids use of black paint.

Wet on wet without waiting for successive applications to dry, producing softer edges and intermingling of color

play of natural light emphasized. Close attention to colors from object to object

en plein air (outdoors)

Post-impressionism

Post-impressionism

Postimpressionism, movement in late-19th-century French painting that emphasized the artist’s personal response to a subject.

Postimpressionists focused on emotional or spiritual meanings that the subject might convey.

Postimpressionists conveyed their personal responses to the world around them through the use of strong, unnatural colors and exaggeration or slight distortion of forms.

Georges SeuratPostimpressionism can be said to

have begun in 1886, the year that French painter Georges Seurat exhibited Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.

Excellent example of the technique known as pointillism—a method in which tiny dots of color are placed close together to create a richness and vibrancy not found in traditional painting techniques.

Sunday Afternoon at La Grande Jatte

Paul Cézanne

bridge between Impressionism and Cubism

both Matisse and Picasso attributed Cézanne ‘is the father of us all’

repetitive, exploratory brushstrokes highly characteristic and clearly recognizable

planes of color and small brushstrokes build up to form complex fields

The Card Players

Basket of Apples

Vincent Van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh, Dutch painter exemplified the idea of artist as tortured genius

His paintings are characterized by thick brush strokes, brilliant colors, jagged lines

The Starry Night

Café Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, at NightThe bold colors heighten the contrast between the inviting glow of the café and the darkness of the streets and the late-night sky. Van Gogh’s thick, heavy brush strokes, typical of this period, create an expressive mood

"Red Vineyards near Arles"

Paul Gauguin

lush color, flat 2-dimensional forms and choice of subject matter helped form the basis of modern art

in 1891, ruined and in debt, Gauguin sailed for the South Seas to escape European civilization and ‘everything that is artificial and conventional’

Gauguin and Van Gogh

Gauguin's relationship with Van Gogh was rocky. Gauguin had shown an early interest in Impressionism, and the two shared bouts of depression and suicidal tendencies. In 1888, Gauguin and Van Gogh spent nine weeks together, painting in the latter's Yellow House in Arles. During this time, Gauguin became increasingly disillusioned with Impressionism, and the two quarreled. On the evening of December 23, 1888, frustrated and ill, Van Gogh confronted Gauguin with a razor blade. In a panic, Van Gogh fled to a local brothel. While there, he cut off the lower part of his left ear lobe. He wrapped the severed tissue in newspaper and handed it to a prostitute named Rachel, asking her to "keep this object carefully."[16] Gauguin left Arles, and a few days later Van Gogh was hospitalized. They never saw each other again, but they continued to correspond and in 1890 Gauguin proposed they form an artist studio in Antwerp.[17] In an 1889 sculptural self-portrait Jug in the form of a Head, Self-portrait Gauguin portrays the traumatic relationship with Van Gogh.

Spirit of the Dead Watching

He remained in the Tropics for the rest of his life, first in Tahiti and later in the Marquesas Islands. The essential characteristics of his style changed little in the South Seas; he retained the qualities of expressive color, denial of perspective, and thick, flat forms.

Gauguin, Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?