Forerunners of Impressionism Essay Example

in painting, such as the Ebauche and the Esquisse, surprisingly promoted the idea of originality. Similarly, Thomas Couture (1815-1879), an independent artist who still followed some Academic standards, had his protege Edouard Manet (1832-1883), who became one of the first forerunners to have an immediate impact on Impressionism.

Couture advised Manet to work quickly and capture the initial strong impression. Manet frequently omitted details and subtle shades in favor of a direct and spontaneous approach. He also diverged from the traditional masters and incorporated both old and contemporary themes into his artwork. A clear example of this can be seen in his painting Olympia (1863). Manet demonstrates his dynamic brushwork by often applying thick strokes of paint.

Manet also utilized strong contours in his artwork, such as in the portrayal of the reclining woman, where he reduced her to a mass of light without much tonal variation. However, Manet's painting Olympia was primarily influenced by photography, a medium that emerged in the 1840s, hence the evident contrast between dark and light shades in the artwork. In the 1860s, along with artists like Degas, Manet extensively studied and embraced photography. This exploration led him to discover a fresh approach to representing his subjects, opting for a simplified and more immediate impression. Consequently, photography played a significant role in shaping the development of Impressionism and greatly influenced the world of art.

The artist's perception of light and its impact was transformed by photography. However, the medium was also responsible for the decline of traditional art academies and their emphasis on moralistic values. Critics claimed that photography lacked the nuanced and delicate qualities of painting. Photography presented an objective truth

without any personal interpretation or illusion. In reaction to this, artists from the 1860's to the 1880's united to create a more nuanced portrayal of reality through their own visual experiences. They aimed to surpass the limitations of photography through innovative methods.

Thus, Impressionism was born. Artists like Monet and Pissaro amazed their peers by revolutionizing the use of color and light.

Impressionism

The primary style of Impressionist painting is characterized by the personal impression conveyed by a scene or object, achieved through the use of pure primary colors and irregular brushstrokes that recreate the effects of reflected light. Unlike traditional studio painting, which often aimed to capture nature faithfully, Impressionism sought to capture the energetic atmosphere and natural light that shaped the artist's perception of shape, form, and above all, color. For Impressionists, color played a crucial role in observing and recording the effects of nature and everyday moments. It is an essential tool for artists to evoke emotions in their audience.

Scientist Eugene Chevreul discovered and demonstrated that color can create illusions and have psychological effects on the observer. Chevreul's development of color theory enabled Impressionists to explore new artistic directions. By utilizing principles of color contrast and overall color effects, Impressionists produced intricate paintings. It is worth noting that the eye creates the actual color as the original seven colors mix with each brushstroke. The Impressionists primarily used the basic colors of the spectrum, which are illustrated in this Color wheel. By applying Chevreul's theories of divisionism and optical combination of colors, Impressionists successfully captured the atmosphere of a fleeting moment in time.

The artist achieves this effect by using complimentary colors and the interaction of light

on the subject or object's surface. Instead of mixing colors, artists place them side-by-side to replicate nature's effects in two dimensions. Impressionists, in particular, abandoned black and earthy tones in favor of pure prismatic hues and white. By utilizing complimentary colors, they were able to create shadows without the need for black. Choosing a color's complimentary was often a direct response to the color being used.

Yellow and purple, blue and orange, red and green. The Impressionist painters utilized these chromatic colors on a light white-based ground. This provided a suitable base for the application of bright chromatic-colored brush marks, which would be layered on top.

In order to achieve extraordinary effects, the Impressionist painters would use both flat and round section brushes that were obtained from their suppliers. They preferred brushes with long handles and flexibility.

The use of texture played a significant role in the technique of Impressionist painters. It served to complement and emphasize color. The Impressionists were familiar with the technique known as "tache", as Zola conducted a study on Manet and observed that when depicting his subjects, he created broad brushstrokes.

Manet's treatment of the tache had a significant influence on Impressionist painters and later on Post-Impressionists like Cezanne. The tache, even though it is a color sensation, carries weight, thickness, and texture that impact the viewer's perception of color. The interplay of light on the surfaces of certain Impressionist paintings can deliberately suggest natural light effects depicted.

Spontaneity

Despite the fact that observing and recording is a fundamental Impressionist technique, almost all the paintings were not completed 'en Plein air'.

Impressionists focused on capturing the initial impression and maintaining its quality, even in artworks that were

not spontaneously painted in one sitting. Their goal was to convey the appearance of spontaneity and develop a visual language to achieve this. Despite their famous practice of completing paintings in a single session, Impressionists managed to create the illusion of immediacy. However, when working outdoors, they faced challenges due to the constantly changing light and atmosphere. Monet once mentioned that an effect would only last for about seven minutes or until the sunlight moved from a certain leaf, prompting him to switch to a new canvas. Claude Oscar Monet (1840-1926) is one of the most renowned Impressionist artists worldwide.

Monet, along with Camille Pissaro, astonished his contemporaries with his revolutionary application of light and color. Monet's artwork alone exemplifies all the principles and ideals of the Impressionist movement. By examining his painting Bathing at La Grenouillere (1869), one can observe his dynamic brushwork and his implementation of the tache technique. Monet employed vibrant, neutral, or grayish tones in his work, blending red and green for the boats. Upon closer examination, vermilion is predominantly used while Prussian blue is utilized for the individuals on the right side of the painting. His distinctive brushstrokes and precise use of the tache technique hint at the existence of forms, despite being composed mostly of irregular shapes.

From a distance, the painting blends the colors together to form a cohesive composition. The texture and brushstrokes are consistent throughout, bringing the design together. The thickness of the paint enhances this effect. Monet employed both wet into wet and wet into dry techniques, with the former blurring colors by overlapping them.

Monet utilized the wet over dry technique in the final layers of his

paintings to emphasize the pure color. For example, he employed pure white to depict the radiant sunlight reflecting off the water surface. Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) was a close companion of Monet and Renoir during the Impressionism era, often adopting the same artistic style. However, Pissarro incorporated the Neo-Impressionist style, which emerged in the 1880s. Although Pissarro became receptive to the innovative ideas of younger artists in the 1880s, Renoir remained unenthusiastic about Neo-Impressionism. Pissarro began utilizing the pointillist technique, but his earlier work, such as "The Cote des Boeufs at L'Hermitage" (1877), reveals the use of swift small comma brushstrokes.

This painting by Pissarro is one of his most ambitious works from the 1870's. It features small touches of broken color and a heavily textured surface that is typical of the period. The subject of the oil painting is a hillside near Pissarro's home, depicted using yellow-greenish hues. The texture of the painting reveals the layering technique employed by Pissarro, with green used for the foliage and a yellowish-brown applied on top to capture the effects of light.

Post Impressionism: Moving On...

After nearly a century, Impressionism, which had originated as a response to traditional arts and was influenced by independent artists and new advancements in the mid 19th century, eventually developed into its own distinct style. However, in the 1880's, a fresh wave of artists emerged and began questioning the techniques employed by the Impressionists. While Pissarro supported this change, Renoir and Monet harbored animosity towards this new generation. As a result, by the mid 1880's, the Impressionist group started to dissolve, paving the way for another group of artists - known as Post-Impressionists.

Post-Impressionism, a

term coined by British art critic Roger Fry in 1910, refers to the various painting styles that thrived in France from 1880 to 1910. The Post-Impressionists, including former impressionists Paul Cezanne (1839-1906) and Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), were united in their belief that impressionism was still evolving. These artists shared a common desire to uncover a deeper truth in their artwork, which led them to experiment with new techniques like Pointillism demonstrated by Georges Seurat (1859-1891).