Significance Of Impressionism

Impressionism is an artistic style of painting that originated in France in the 1870s. This style of painting attempts to capture an experience or emotion opposed depicting a scene accurately. Every impressionistic painter has a distinct method of rendering as well as their own distinct set of qualities that reflect the artist themselves. For instance, The Basket Chair by Berthe Morisot and The Orange Trees by Gustave Caillebotte are two impressionist works of art of oils on canvas that contrast in many ways. These two paintings will be compared side by side with an in depth approach comparing the artist’s personal status in society, modernism’s role in the piece, and the execution of composition.

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, 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.

Claude Monet is one of the most familiar and best loved of all Western artists. His images of poppy fields, poplar trees, water lilies and elegant ladies in blossoming gardens are familiar to people who have never seen the original paintings and may never have visited an art gallery. Monet's works have won a place in the affection of the general public that seems almost without parallel. (Rachman, 4) In the decades since his death in 1926, Monet's work has been intensely studied by a variety of art critics. However, none of his works have been as deeply studied as those done in Giverny, in the early twentieth century. During this time Monet's paintings, which focused on specific subject matter from various viewpoints,

In Paris in the late 19th century (1874-1882), several artists who called themselves the Anonymous Society of Painters, Sculptors, Printmakers, etc. organized an exhibit that launched the movement called Impressionism. These artists, such as Eduoard Manet, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Pierre Auguste Renoir, and Mary Cassatt, sparked worldwide following and revolutionized Western conceptions of painting. Appearing to other artists to be a group, these independent painters with quite diverse artistic approaches, were only unified in their rejection by the official annual Salon (the Académie des Beaux-Arts which is a French academic organization that

In early 19th century, the French government controlled the academies and salons of paintings. The impressionism took place in second half of 19th century, which was results of French artists rejecting the traditional government sanctioned academic painting that was dominating their arts at the time. The first independent art exhibition was held in 1874 for one month. Few of the famous artists’ who participated and help organize this exhibition was Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, Pierre-Auguste Renior, Edgar Degas and Camille Pissarro along with 25 other artists. They displayed approximately 165 paintings during this exhibit. This group of artists referred themselves as

This essay analyses the aesthetic and ideological underpinnings of the Modernist artwork, Impression, Sunrise of Claude Monet. The artwork and Impressionism is considered to be a visual articulation of the avant-garde and the latter statement is explained. References to the writings of Charles Harrison, Clement Greenberg and Wilhelm Worringer is used to theorise the aesthetics of modernity.

‘Impressionism’ was a derogatory term first used to mock Claude Monet’s painting Impression, Sunrise, and other later paintings that were patterned after his revolutionary style. At a time when artists took great pains to make their artwork look as life-like as possible, the quick brushstrokes and blurry figures in Monet’s paintings looked anything but realistic to the art critics. Because of its focus on mental images, Impressionism later came to include not only visual arts, but also certain music as well. Debussy and Ravel are two of the most famous Impressionist composers, and our textbook states that what sets their style apart is that “instead of dealing with human emotions, [their] music evoked the atmosphere of nature” (p. 704). This type of

My event was the Dallas Museum of Art; “The Lens of Impressionism,” photography and painting along the Normandy coast 1850-1874. I went on Sunday, February 21, 2010. The class studied this era in Chapter 13: The Working Class and the Bourgeoisie. The term "impressionism" was coined by a critic interacting with Clause Monet's "Impression: Sunrise" painting in 1874. French impressionists depicted light and color and was often embellished with romanticism; usually conveyed scenes filled with light and joy (Sayer).

In this paper, I choose to discuss three pieces of art from the 19th century Impressionist period and three from the Post-Impressionist period and how these six pieces of art compare to each style. Then I will draft a memo to the CEO of my company to describe the appearance, so that they will have an idea of what the art looks like and where it should be placed throughout the corporate offices. Next, we are going to explain the historical significance for each piece of artwork that I choose. Finally, I will descried to the CEO of my company how each piece of art matches the company’s overall image.

As stated earlier impressionism is a style of art characterized by short brush strokes of bright colors to represent the effect of light on objects. Impressionism was launched in 1874 when Claude Monet painted Impression, Sunrise. Claude was considered the leader of impressionism because of this painting. When he painted this painting everything seemed to change. He changed the movement by using loose brushwork which was sketch like giving the painting an unfinished look. Impressionism was also different because it focused on capturing modern lifestyles. Artists most commonly painted: suburban lifestyles, landscapes, railways, and trains.

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

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

Impressionism as an historical art period is best described as a shift in thinking and focus. This paradigm shift, away from realism and toward individualism, began a centuries long transformation of self-expression in art as a whole. Impressionism is generally considered a French movement and is typically defined as spanning from approximately 1867 to 1886. Impressionism is best embodied by and was perhaps initiated by Claud Monet in such world-renowned works as Impressions: soleil levant which lent its name to the style and subsequently the art period as a whole.

“Painting today is pure intuition and luck and taking advantage of what happens when you splash the stuff down. “- Francis Bacon. However when I learnt more about history of art and the way each movement and happenings in the world inspired artist to make new works, I was able to see much more than just a canvas with random paints and sketches. The interesting part about this concept is that each piece of art could be interpreted in many different ways. In contemporary art there isn’t right and wrong, each of us view and find different meanings and connections with artworks.