Impressionism

Impressionism is a new type of art from the 19th century. While the French Royal Academy firmly stood behind their highest forms of painting ( landscape, historical landscape, and portrait), Impression broke away from them and was created to rebel against Realism.  Impressionism mainly consisted of contemporary still life and landscape.  This was unacceptable in the eyes of the Academy as they saw still life, landscape, and genre paintings as a low form; it was a complete mockery and received very negative attention.  Artists such as Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, were interested more in landscape and in contemporary life.  They were fascinated by the contemporary urban life, from lunches in the park to menial labor.   While Impressionists were rejected from presenting their work at the Salon de Paris, they threw their own exhibit.  They received little affection from the public in the beginning, but slowly they gained and attracted appreciators of their work.  Traditionally, paintings and other forms of art were performed indoors and in studios.  But the Impressionist movement has moved from indoors to the open air.  Impressionists worked in the open-air, or "au plein-air".  Doing so, capturing light and time was easier since the artist was in the natural light. Impressionist paintings were created differently then other type of paintings, like Realism.  Short, and choppy brush strokes with heavy-loaded paint were used, the heavy use of chiaroscuro was stopped, and pure color was directly applied to the painting without mixing before hand.  Complementary colors used in Impressionism intensified contrasts.   As we learned in class, Impressionism experiments were put on hold for a couple years because of the Franco-Prussian War.  Napoleon III declared war on Prussia, and was soon forced to surrender.  Monet and other Impressionists leave the city, while Degas, Renoir, and Bazille stayed behind.   I quite enjoy Impressionism paintings, so much, that I even experimented in it during my Introduction to Painting and Intermediate Painting courses at Chaffey College. Art work from top to bottom: Camille Pissarro, Hay Harvest at Eragny, 1901, Claude Monet, Woman With a Parasol, 1875, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Dance at Le Moulin de la Galatte, 1876.


-Carlos Cardona, Art 3 and 5