The Impressionist Period : The Impressionists ' Techniques Developed During The Late 1800s

The 19th century art movement, Impressionism originated by a group of artists who rejected the official, government endorsed exhibitions. In 1863, a large number of artist were not accepted into the most important event of the art world, The Official Salon. To which they responded by creating an exhibition known of their own, known as the Salon de Refuses which consisted of work by artists who had been refused acceptance to the official salon. The Impressionists aimed to capture the fleeting moment of a scene, which turned away from the fine finish and detail that majority of artists aimed for in their day. They wanted to capture the effects of light, to convey the difference of time, changes in weather, and other differences in the atmosphere,

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.

Although at first glance, Realism and Impressionism appear to be completely separate movements in 19th century art, they in fact were both bred as a response to the new order of Europe that had evolved as a result of the marks made by both the Industrial Revolution and a series of European continental wars. Realist painters and Impressionist painters alike faced controversy in challenging the status quo of the Salons, and took risks to no longer romanticize drastic changes within society caused by industrialization, but instead acknowledge them head-on. Edouard Manet in particular exemplified the gradual transitions from Realism to Impressionism and even to

In the 19th century, there was an artistic transition from realism to a new form called impressionism. This change originated in France, as the world underwent a transition to industrialization. The impressionist was able to understand how light and color operate hand in hand in a painting. Instead of seeing an image as a whole work, impressionist would see smaller images making up the entire piece. The style was primarily made of the use of intense colors, open composition, light and movement and brush strokes. They were mainly

Impressionism can be considered the first distinctly modern movement in painting. Developing in Paris in the 1860s, its influence spread throughout Europe and eventually the United States. Impressionism was a style of representational art that did not necessarily rely on realistic depictions. The Impressionists loosened their brushwork and lightened their palettes to include pure, intense colors.

The 1800’s were a time when art merely showed our three-dimensional world on a two- dimensional plane. Claude Monet, a famous French impression painter, sought to change these Victorian standards that he so resented with his Impressionist ideals. During an art exhibition in 1874, Monet debuted his painting Impression, Sunrise which was critiqued by many other artists. One artist acridly dubbed it the title of Impression in that it did not focus on the scene at hand but instead favored lighting. However, Monet did not let this get to him and in fact, let it drive him to push for change in the art community. Monet used colors, technique, and impressionism ideals on to convey the new way that he believed art should be created.

The period of Impressionism and Post Impressionism embarks from ca. 1860 to 1910 CE. For the Impressionists artists the main focus were the upper middle class, the city and restful activities. They emphasized in the outdoors, parks, sky, star, sun etc. in hope to obtain directly the effects of light and the atmosphere, this method was known as en plein air. This technique was influenced by the Japanese art and photography. They used strokes and touches of pure colors mostly white, almost never black. They were able to record or attain the shifting play of light on the surface of the object they were working on. This method allowed the artist to record the effect light had on the eyes of the spectator without concern for the physical aspect

Impressionists were inspired by photography that was only gaining popularity. Photos were transmitting reality more accurately, and painters had to change their approach to depiction of various sceneries.

There is no denying that art has been constantly redefined throughout history. Art has consistently been catered to fit what society wants and needs it to be, from realism to abstract and idealized Greek statues to intricate cathedral ceilings. However the Impressionist Movement of the 19th century brought a whole new dimension to the art community. Oscar-Claude Monet, a founders of the Impressionism, used his art to not only showcase a subject but to present it in a way that was completely extraordinary. Surrendering harsh lines and distinct shapes, Monet used brush textures and contrasting color palettes to open up a whole other perspective with which to observe the world. Monet commandeered these distinct techniques in his efforts to focus on the illustration of light effects on his subjects. This can be seen in his piece, The Rouen Cathedral, Façade (Sunset), Harmonie in Gold and Blue.

A. Impressionism, both in content and in style, was an art of developed, urbanized Paris, a reaction to the sometimes brutal and chaotic transformation of French life that occurred during the latter half of the 19th century (Hubbard,2001).

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.

Impressionists were seen as artists who were challenging normal and accepted concepts of color and light. Impressionism got its start when certain painters started to use more natural methods of painting and lighting their work, really straying from the traditional rules of academic painting and art. In 1874, a group of artists called the Anonymous Society of Painters, Sculptors, Printmakers, etc. put together an exhibit in Paris, France(4). Subsequently starting the movement which we know today as Impressionism. Its founding members included Claude Monet, and Edgar Degas among others. The group was unified and brought together only by its independence from the official annual Salon (the Salon was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. The salon considered to be the greatest annual art event in the Western world beginning in 1667) (2).

Impressionism emerged in France during the late half of the 19th century and could be considered one of the first distinctly modern movement in painting. It was often rejected by many scholars for they believed it lacked a certain “high quality” or “polished” look that was seen in works of art in the past. The “idea” of Impressionism was for the artist to paint in the moment, to capture the sensory effect of the scene and in order to create this affect Impressionists moved from the studio to the streets painting in what is known as, “en plein air.” In order to create this aesthetic Impressionist worked with loose brushstrokes and lightened their palattes to achieve pure and intense colors. Traditional linear perspective was thrown out as well as clarity of form and the idea that

The Impressionism Movement affected the evolution of modern art.This is due to the introduction of painting 'en plein air' and the style which is recognisable by short brushstrokes, intense pure colour and natural light.Consequently, landscapes both in the city and the countryside became their most natural and influential subject. Emerging artists found the limitations of Impressionism frustrating.Therefore, they wanted to push the