Impressionism and Post Impressionism

What is impressionism?

• Impressionism is similar to Realism in that it depicted a realistic event.

• Different because it captured a single moment in time.

• The compositions of an impressionist painter often took the view of an instant movement in space creating an incidental effect, as if someone was caught off guard.

What is Impressionism cont…

• Many times figures or scenes were cut off or cropped like photographs.

• Common imagery were everyday subjects of the cafes, scenes of street life, leisurely scenes.

Painting style

• Differed from that of the Realists. • Used more refined techniques of blending

• Defined their subject matter by segmenting it into strokes of color

• Their palette held a variety of colors that helped capture color and light as it appeared in nature.

Painting style continued….

• When you look closely at an Impressionistic or post impressionistic painting you may only see patches of color that do not seem to represent anything.

• When you move back from the canvas the colors begin to bend and their placement and the color combinations create edges, values and shapes. – This creates a recognizable image.

Painting style cont….

• Some artist during this time used color to create an emotional effect within the composition.

• During this time Pointillism emerged.• Pointillism: the application of small tiny dots

of paint that would create a work of art.

Example of Pointillism

Influences• The influence of the realist movement

continued to remain. – Facilitation with everyday life, leisurely activity,

industrialization, scientific inventions, urbanization. • Photography: this introduce the artist to the

snap-shot imagery. • Scientific advancements: – Observation of color– Optical effects

Artist• Best known artist of the time:– Paul Gauguin – Vincent Van Gogh– Paul Cezanne

• Other known artist:– Claude Monet– Edgar Degas– Pierre Auguste Renoir – Camille Pissaro– Eduorad Manet– Mary Casset

Artist continued…..

• Many artist were rejected from establishment exhibits

• They formed their own society to hold their own exhibitions.

Claude Monet 1840-1926

• Used loose brushstrokes

• Painted mostly landscapes

• Monet focused on painting the same subject at different times of the day. – Created different lighting – Different weather conditions

• This style actually downplayed the subject matter– The result of this is abstract qualities of the

lighting and surface• Monet's work moved away from

impressionism and closer to abstract.

Monet continued….

• The final phase of his work was at his home in Giverny.

• Obsession with light and flowers and their changing colors year round.

• Series of paintings “water lilies” – Most famous for – Built a studio especially to house large canvases

for these paintings.

Mary Cassatt 1845-1926

• Only American asked to exhibit with the Impressionist

• Best known for her portraits of women in domestic settings and mothers with children.

• Her style was prominent, vigorous brushstrokes and a light color scheme.

Sleepy Baby 1910

Auguste Rodin 1840-1917

• Brought sculpture into the modern era

• He started career by creating decorative iron work sculptures for buildings

• He was inspired when visiting Italy and seeing the works of Michelangelo.

• He used impressionistic style In his sculpture

• “The Gates of Hell” was originally intended to be commissioned by a decorative arts museum, that fell through but he continued to work on it for 40 years.

• “ The Thinker” – Several versions were

created, one castings sits at The University of Louisville campus.

Vincent Van Gogh 1853-1890

• After a spiritual crisis and many careers he found his true love was art.

• Explored a symbolic and expressive use of color.• He used bright colors and line to express emotion.• Throughout his life he experienced extreme

poverty and depression. – His mental health led to the famous cutting the ear off

incident which was a result of an argument with Gauguin.

Vincent Van Gogh continued…

• Characteristics of his art work are:– Striking color– Coarse brushwork – Contoured forms

• His masterpieces included: – Numerous self portraits– Paintings of his room in Arles– “Sunflowers” and “Starry Night”

Starry Night

Sunflowers

Important things to know….

• Colors were widely used

• Painting techniques highlighted the broad brushstrokes of color applied thickly

• Impasto- Color applied thickly