Impressionism bridge between past and future Essay

One of the last topics we discussed in class turned out to be a form of art that probably interests me more than almost every other type of art that we have discussed this entire semester. That form of art is the impressionist style of painting. I really love all the different brush strokes that form different images for different people. I also enjoy much of the images that the impressionists painted, because they are usually very relaxed and mellow images that put you into a comfortable place. The post-impressionist period, especially very early post-impressionist, is even better I think. I think it’s better because it is just a little more refined and puts more emphasis on the figure and form of different objects. Since I enjoyed the post-impressionist’s

In the middle of Napoleon III's reign, the transformation of Paris began. He commissioned Baron Georges-Eugene Haussmann to renovate the city between 1852 and 1870. Baron Haussmann received a lot of criticism for his redesign of Paris and it unfortunately led to his downfall in 1870. However should one see Haussmann as the saviour or destroyer of Paris?

While the painters after the Impressionism period were collectively called the “Post-Impressionists,” the label is quite reductive. Each artist had their own unique style, from Seurat’s pointillism to Signac’s mosaic-like divisionism, Cezanne, Émile Bernard, and others. These artists were all connected in that they were reacting to the aesthetics of Impressionism. Two of the more influential painters from this movement were Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin, who aimed to connect with viewers on a deeper level by access Nature’s mystery and meaning beyond its superficial, observable level. However, each artist’s approach to achieving this goal was different. In close examination of Vincent van Gogh’s Self-Portrait (Dedicated to Paul Gauguin) and Paul Gauguin’s Self-Portrait with Portrait of Émile Bernard (Les misérables), one may clearly see the two artists’ contrasting styles on display.

Impressionism is a way of painting which depicts objects using strokes and dabs of primary unmixed colours in order to simulate reflections of light. This style of painting was completely different and new at the time and both Seurat and Monet used these methods to become pivotal impressionist artists in the early 1870s.

Impressionism, in contrast, strove not to capture the toils of society in a moralistic setting like Realism did, but to evoke a general mood in the viewer. Painting was transformed from the idea of capturing a moment on canvas to creating a moment on canvas; painting was reduced to its own surface, “no longer transparent means but opaque ends” (Schneider 43). This was exemplified by Manet’s own ideas of painting not as “sight” but as “insight” into the human condition, driven by an artist’s intuition. Manet and the impressionists began painting en plein air, outdoors in the fresh air where they were closer to their subjects and captured the light of fleeting moments like sunrises and sunsets with quick brushstrokes intended to evoke general mood in the viewer based on the capture of light and tones in the painting, leading to the namesake “impression” left by the movement.

Art, according to Webster's Dictionary, is a human skill of expression of other objects by painting, drawing, and sculpture. People have used art as a form of expression for a long time. From the Mesopotamian era to the Classical Greeks and the present. Art is expressed in many different ways and styles, and is rapidly changing, one style replacing another. Impressionism and Cubism broke away from the traditional style of painting. They were both looking for a new way to express everyday life. Time is an important tool that is used in Cubism as well as Impressionism. This element is expressed in Claude Monet's Sunrise and Pablo Picasso's Man with a Violin in different ways.

Both groups painted contemporary pieces, inspired by landscapes and modern life. Impressionists focused on the lighting, and the natural movement of the setting they were painting. They painted things en Plein air (in open air). In order to truly capture the essence of an image, they believed that you must be experiencing it firsthand. They started to break away from the Realist perspective, with the lack of dimension and modeling. Impressionist had a particular interest in capturing transitory moments in time. They used unique angles and thinner brush strokes to capture the visual element of being in motion. There was a bigger emphasis on the use of color in impressionist works. They used a technique in which they applied color to already wet paint, to develop the colors of the painting. This style of painting was a gateway for post- impressionism.

Post impressionism period began around 1880 and ended around 1910. The artist of this time looked for different style of painting to express their emotions in their work, instead of just mastering the optical impressions they wanted to concentrate on the deeper themes of symbolism. The first person to coin the term “post-impressionism” was British artist and an art critic, Roger Fry. He also played big role in putting an exhibition called “Manet and the Post-Impressionists” at Gragron Gallery in London, which lasted from November 8, 1910 to January 15, 1911 (Voorhies, 2000). Some of well known artist from this periods were Vincent van Gogh, George Seurat, Paul Cezanne, Othon Friesz, Maurice De Vlaminck, Andre Derain and Paul Gauguin.

Paris as the City of Light, or the “modern” Paris, emerged in the mid 19th century as the demolition of “Old Paris” by Prefect Haussmann paved the way for the urban renewal program set out by the Emperor Napoleon III. New streets, sewers, and parks, and new town halls, hospitals, and schools were all created at this time. Not all were admired though. In fact, some Parisians grew angry that the historic core of Paris was lost in these bold projects. Lights throughout Paris evolved over the 19th century as well. Candle-lit lanterns that once lit the city became oil-burning lamps. It wasn’t until the year 1900 that Paris was illuminated by electric lighting, and formally became known as “Ville Lumière.” Main monumental spaces such as the Palais de l’Électricité, the Eiffel Tower, and even the new central wide boulevards were illuminated with these lights. Paris displayed the pleasures of the city to visitors who came to experience it, however, it also divided Parisians on the basis that the city’s traditions and memories were destroyed. Despite being called the most cosmopolitan city in the world by Baedeker, its history left out the dark side of it all. Paris was desolated of its historic memories and its traditional morals. However, renovations did bring sunlight and air into the historically beloved unhealthy, cramped streets. Ultimately, this image of Paris is all about its visually appealing aesthetics and does not mention what a true Parisian, in the center-periphery or banlieues, for example, would vision.

Post-impressionist paintings under the “IT’ theory alone were not considered art. To be able to accept post-impressionist paintings as art then required, “a revolution in taste.” The artworld, as Danto would agree needed to bring a new theory in order to

People have often thought of going back in time because of regrets or mistakes they want to fix in the past. The only way to go to the past is time travel there. Time travel has been know as science fiction but now scientist have been believing time travel is possible based on the physics laws. If time travel is possible, then will it be helpful for human begins to go back to the past. Time travel can’t be worth it because if you change something in the past, it will affect a lot in your future. The people you thought you knew may not be the same people in the future because you change something in the past. There are different theories stating on that there may be parallel universe and other versions of us.

His first comprehensive city plan was La Ville Contemporaine (the Contemporary City) a project to house three million inhabitants designed in 1922. This was Le Corbusier’s first attempt to reconcile man, nature and machine (Fishman, 189). The city starts at the center with a transportation hub for busses, trains, cars and planes. Surrounding this hub there will be an organized cluster of 24 60-story skyscrapers. These glass and steel skyscrapers are cross-shaped. Each individual skyscraper is to be set within a large rectangular green space. The skyscrapers house the “brain” of the city. The city is beautifully geometric and symmetrical. Placing the skyscrapers in the city center reinforces the emphasis on capital as a means of creating a successful city. Because of the shape and mass of each skyscraper, they have more usable space than an entire neighborhood but also relieves density and congestion because of the organization (Frampton, 46).

As a result of a booming development of the nineteenth century city, “progressive” architects of the time started to deliberate and conceive opinions to create long term solutions. Known for his radical cultural manifestos, Le Corbusier is one of the architects that epitomizes the change in ideal of the Machine Age. He introduced ideas of living in completely analogous, planned, designed, and then built, cities. Le Corbusier 's proposition for the City of Tomorrow had in its roots the intention of creating a series of fundamental principles that would become the skeleton of any modern city plan. However, considerations that were not applied during that period of time, are the cause of its unsuccessful development.

During the Modern Era of the late 19th century and the early 20th century, many artists were turning away from the idea of painting realistic images. Photography, having just been developed for public use a few decades earlier, made artists of the day focus less on painting as an precise copy of what is seen, as had been done for centuries. Since the Middle Ages, most artists painted exact representations of life. Starting in the late 1800s, though, many artists were starting to embrace the theory of art as an impression of what is seen. Impressionism, the art movement that began in the 1870s in France, was the first real development of this new concept of painting. Impressionists, such as Claude Monet, sought to put on canvas how they

Paris today is known as a center of arts and rich culture both acclaimed and original. Famous moments pop up through the history of France’s art, such as the impressionistic artworks by Monet, the École des Beaux-Arts teachings of classicism, and the iconic Eiffel Tower by Stephen Sauvestre. Paris augments itself with numerous museums to catalog countless masterpieces and sculptures throughout France’s enduring, yet sometimes gritty, history. As a whole, Paris comprises of a mixture between historic architectural themes like rusticated brick clad, mansard roofs, striated columns, and a modern day architectural themes like engineered metalwork, and external program support machinery. The notion of classic French architecture, juxtaposed