THE IMPRESSIONISM

Impressionism

• 1874

• freedom from representing reality as is

• Concentrated on artists perception of reality

• Main focus were the study of LIGHT & COLOUR

Whate sparked impressionism?

1. PHOTOGRAPHY

Allowed painters to STOP CONCENTRATING ON DEPICTING REALITY - FREE TO USE EXPRESSIVE METHODS / COLOURS / COMPOSITIONS

2. INDEPENDENT ART EXHIBITION IN NADAR

It was there when term IMPRESSIONISM was first used, by a French critique about Monet’s SUNRISE which was just an IMPRESSION OF REALITY

Who influenced impressionism?

1. Camile Corot (1796 - 1875)

Painting en plain air, suppression of details in favour of MOOD & COLOUR, prominent STRUCTURALITY & GEOMETRICATION

2. GUSTAVE COURBET (1819-77)

Collaged compositions, SENSITIVE subjects, AMPLIFIED SURFACE TEXTURE, stylistic innovations, lack of celebration of religion in favour of reality & life-like qualities

• Corot

• simplified house features

• Simple geometrical structure

• Little highlights - rather flat

• corot

• Only the tree is oval and with definition

• Harsh shadow

• Lack of detail

• Flat & simple structures

• COURBET

• Controversial subject

• Lack of religious conotations

• Narrow perspective

• New & scandalous

• Slightly undefined & blurry

• courbet

• Blurred horizon lines

• Lack of detail or refined shape

• Unrealistic colour palette used

CLAUDE MONET

• 1840-1926

• French

• One of the FOUNDING MEMBERS of the ANONYMOUS SOCIETY OF PAINTERS

• His artwork gave birth to the name “impressionism”

• Main topics: landscapes & leisure activities of paris

• Pioneer of the act of PERCEIVING nature

• HUGE PLAIN AIR CANVASES

• Elimination of linear perspective = emphasis on 2D

• Unrealistic colour palette with vibrant hues

• Monet, Poppies Blooming, 1873

• Blurring

• Lack od detail (we dont know who the people are)

• Unrealisticly vivid

• Sole beauty of the landscape & scene

• Claude Monet, Rouen Cathedral, 1892-94

• A collection of works on the same subject, at different times

• Study of light - colour relationship

• New representation of light

• Claude Monet, Garden at Giverny, 1900

• Study of colours via a new technique (blockes of colour, no horizon, no definite structure/detail)

• Blury & vibrant

• The light is painting the landscape

• Claude Monet, WAter Lillies, 1918-1926

• one of his last works

• an ambint room that absorbs attention

• Blurrying together into one whole

• Displayed in a circular room - the viewer is completely immersed into pure colour

• No horizon

• No detail

Edgar degas

• french

• 1834-1917

• He studies life via photography

• Doesn’t work in plain air

• Mainly does portrayal of motion & unnatural poses

• Fascinated with women and ballerinas

• Edgar degas, A woman seated beside a vas if flowers, 1865

• shift of importance (big flowers, small woman)

• Blurry

• Edgar Degas, The tub, 1886

• Representation of woman in an UNUSUAL & INTIMATE SETTING (vouyeristic even)

• Lack of sexiness & no celebration of beauty

• Rough skin texture

• Crammed room without a viisble horizon

• Unlike standard portrayald of bathers (no grace, no sexiness, not portrayed in nature, no looking at the viewer as if inviting)

• Edgar Degas, The star, 1876

• REprresentation of the beauty of movement

• Very dynamic (lack of back leg) & bluriness

• Blurry and non-detailed bg - focus on the dancer

• Edgar Degas

Left - Dancers behind the curtains, 1897

Right - Four Dancers, 1900

• Both works portray the same balerinas (use of photography)

• Visible blurring and portrayed mid-movement

• He is not intrested in reality BUT IN TEH MOVEMENT

• Inventive and unreal - the 4th dancer is imagined

• Edgar Degas, Two ballet dancers, 1879

• narrow perspective and incorrect floor Movement - deliberate direction of attention to the dancers

• Unnatural poses, lack of grace, mid-movement

• Unnatural depth

• Edgar Degas, Little dancer aged 14, 1879-81

• Real elemnts are fabric and the size (life-sized)

• Portrayed mid ballet move

• Lack of grace and smoothness

• Just motion

AUGUSTE RENOIR

• FRench

• 1841-1919

• Mainly represented life of parisians (the upper crust)

• Everything is about fun & walefare of the rich

• Also dedicated to depictions of NUDE WOMEN / SCULPTING / PORTRAITS / TOPICS OF SENSUAL APPEAL

• Auguste Renoir, Dance at Le Moullin de la Galette, 1876

• full of tiny stains of colour - shows light apssing through trees and adds dynamism

• Characters are simmilar, lack of distinct characteristics

• The goal is to represent THE SITUATION

• Auguste Renoir, Madame Charpentier & her children, 1878

• Represents how he can be detailed (the chair in the back & faces), but still blurry & impressionistic

• People’s faces and dresses stand out as important

• Use of symbolism (dog - fidelity & love, triangular composition - places madamme in the centre of attention, rectangles on chair - japanese print/fashion)

• typical Renoirs style, showing who the portrayed is and what they stand for

EDUARDO MANET

• French

• 1832-83

• PIVOTAL PAINTER (transitioned from REALISM TO IMPRESSIONISM)

• Eduardo Manet, Young man in the costume of a Majo, 1863

• Eralier work - links to classic style

• Typical plain portrait bg

• Slightly blurry and lacking proper detail (impr)

• EDuard Manet, Dejeuner sur l’herbe, 1862-3

• Most famous painting refused by teh academy

• Completely scandalous

• Naked known rostitute staring at the viewer

• Lack of smoothness of body

• Completely incorrect perspective (the bather in the back is too big)

• Teh rendering of the fabric is masterous - MAnet can paint but refuses to

• based on Titian’s and Ralmondi’s paintings - classical paintings which adds salt to injury

• Eduardo Manet, Olympia, 1863

• Flat body with no texture

• Portrayal of known prostitute - scandalous

• Titian is again the inspo (Venere di Urbino), but the cat = evil, but titian uses dog = fidelity,

• Server brings olympia flowers from admirers, in titians only the godess is important

• Nakedness was accepted in the past but only UNREALISTIC - MAja by GOYA is an imagned person who is too perfect & ideal, hence accepted

• Eduardo Manet, A Bar at the Folies-Bergere, 1882

• Manet knows how to apint but breaks rules intentionally

• Wrong perspective - mirror in the back

• We can see us, as the man in the mirror

• The mirror makes the apinting completely unrealistic

• We are INSIDE & VEREYTHING WE SEE IS A REFLECTION

• Still life painted with great detail = shows his knowledge