Modern Art & Impressionism Overview

Term typically covers artworks produced between 1870 and 1970.
Marked by a conscious break from Renaissance-based academic traditions.
- Renaissance ideals prioritized idealized realism, linear perspective, and mytho-religious themes.
- Modern artists questioned both form (materials, techniques) and function (role of artist in society).
Philosophical/ethical dimension:
- Emphasis on individual vision rather than adherence to institutional standards.
- Reflected broader 19th–20th-century shifts (industrialization, urbanization, scientific progress).

Adoption of new materials beyond canvas & oil (e.g.
- Industrial paints, metal, collage elements).
Exploration of new techniques of applying pigment (impasto, pointillism, dripping, etc.).
Development of theories of perception:
- Art should mirror the perceived—not necessarily the objective—world.
- Color theory, optical science, and psychology informed brushwork and palette choices.
Re-examination of the artist’s role:
- From craftsman serving patrons to autonomous commentator or social critic.

Paris-based movement active roughly 1872–1885 ("mid-1880s").
Artists aimed to capture fleeting impressions of light, atmosphere, and contemporary life.
First group exhibition in 1874 marked a public challenge to the official Salon system.
Core members: Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, Edgar Degas, Berthe Morisot, et al.

Coined by a critic referencing Claude Monet’s 1872 canvas Impression, Soleil Levant (Impression, Sunrise).
Initially pejorative—implication that the work was an unfinished "impression" rather than a polished painting.
Movement later embraced the label, foregrounding spontaneity and sensory immediacy.

Scene adapted from Inferno depicts Dante and poet Virgil in hellish waters (River Styx).
Technical significance:
- Water droplets on tormented souls rendered with unconventional, broken brushstrokes—anticipating Impressionist surface effects.
- Illustrates early experimentation with textured marks to convey movement & moisture.
Connects Romanticism (Delacroix) to Modern experimentation, bridging narrative drama and formal innovation.

Visible brushstrokes: Short, broken dabs create vibration and deny seamless illusion.
Light, high-keyed palette: Preference for pastel and pure hues over earth tones.
Side-by-side color placement with minimal pre-mixing:
- Encourages optical mixing in the viewer’s eye, heightening luminosity.
- Example: placing strokes of pure ultramarine next to cadmium yellow produces a perceived green at viewing distance.
Emphasis on transient light and its color shifts across times of day & weather conditions.
Ordinary subject matter: Boulevards, cafés, riversides, ballet rehearsals; democratization of artistic themes.
Unusual visual angles: Cropped compositions, high viewpoints—partly inspired by photography and Japanese prints.

Mid-19th-century cameras delivered instantaneous, objective images.
Impressionists responded by offering subjective interpretations:
- Sought to freeze moments of action (e.g., ripples, pedestrian stride) yet embed personal sensation.
Framing devices (tight cropping, asymmetry) echo photographic snapshots.
Philosophical implication: Truth in art may reside in perception over mechanical recording.

Scientific backdrop: Chevreul’s law of simultaneous contrast; Helmholtz’s optics.
By juxtaposing complements (e.g., orange & blue) painters intensified vibrancy without muddying pigments.
Viewer becomes an active participant, completing color synthesis in the retina.

Early career grounded in classical realism and Salon exhibition.
Pivoted toward Impressionist ideas while maintaining distinctive, flatter tonal blocks.
Subjects: Bar scenes, urban leisure, everyday Parisians—often with subtle social commentary.
Transitional importance:
- Bridged Realism (Courbet) and full Impressionism.
- Challenged academic norms with controversial works (Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe, Olympia).

Impressionism laid groundwork for subsequent movements:
- Post-Impressionism, Fauvism, Expressionism.
Advanced the modern principle that process & perception can equal or surpass narrative content.
Ethical/practical ramifications:
- Redefined public expectations of what counts as “finished” or “valuable” art.
- Opened institutional space (independent exhibitions) for avant-garde expression.