Impressionism Module
Before impressionism, french paintings focused on realism, historical events, nature, and used many blending techniques with paint.
Impressionism
During this era, people stop focusing as much on realism and shifted towards painting with self-expression and human experience. Daily experiences and landscapes became a priority. Painters used brush strokes to make a lot of movement. Sometimes they represented individual dots or particles of color.
In the 1800s the camera changed painting as it captured realistic feature far quicker than some painting. What artist did in this time was stop focusing on perfection and instead shifted their goal towards expression.
Subject Matter
Paintings changed from being just about historical events or biblical events and depicted landscapes and everyday activities. A big factor in impressionist subject matter was Japanese art. It didn’t focus on historical things too much but rather on landscapes and human life.
Discovery of atomic particles
In this time people discovered atomic particles before the modern era people back then didn’t have proof of smaller bits of information being making up the world.
Tech of pigment
The following, on the other hand, are the colors that the industrial revolution made available. New chemical process and the necessity for large amounts of paint for industrial processes made a range of new, bright synthetic colors available to artists.
Paint In Tubes
Before 1841 when John Rand invented the metal paint tube, oil paint was stored in pig bladders. They were hard to transport and very messy. Paint tubes made everything more convenient
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Post Impressionism
This era was between 1886 and 1905 in France. It accepted ideas of impressionism but also denied things to express a quick changing world.
Vincent Van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh only sold one painting in his lifetime—to his brother, Theo. Despite this, he is now one of the most famous and beloved artists in history. The two brothers were incredibly close, exchanging hundreds of letters, where Vincent often included drawings to share his artistic progress.
Gogh’s The Starry Night (1889) exemplifies Post-Impressionism with its swirling brushstrokes and emotional depth. Unlike Pointillism, Van Gogh’s technique used expressive, dynamic strokes rather than precise dots. His work is not about realism but about conveying emotion through color and movement.
In Almond Blossom (1890), Van Gogh was inspired by Japanese prints, using a bright turquoise background and delicate blossoms to capture beauty and individuality. His attention to detail in each flower emphasizes that every aspect of life is significant.
Though Van Gogh was unrecognized in his lifetime, his paintings are now celebrated globally, appearing in museums and commercial products. The pigments in his works have also changed over time due to the aging of materials.
For years, Van Gogh’s death was thought to be a suicide. However, new research suggests he may have been accidentally shot by young men playing with a gun. Forensic expert Dr. Vincent Di Maio found evidence inconsistent with a self-inflicted wound, suggesting that Van Gogh may have been unintentionally wounded but did not report it to protect those involved.
Van Gogh’s story is often used to romanticize the link between mental illness and creativity, which can discourage artists from seeking help. The focus on his tragic death can overshadow the passion, joy, and dedication he had for painting. His struggles with recognition during his lifetime highlight the emotional weight of being misunderstood as an artist.