The Impressionists Movement

981 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay about impressionism art

Impressionist painting grew out of artists’ discontent with the strict standards of the French Academy of Fine Arts. These artists wanted the freedom to paint what they see and felt while painting. Claude Monet and Edgar Degas were just two of the many artists who transitioned into impressionism. Although Monet and Degas painting styles were markedly different, they both showed artistic freedom in their work. The impressionist movement in the arts brought fresh ideas, subjects, and techniques into painting. I will discuss impressionism and how this type of painting is used in Claude Monet’s Rouen Cathedral and L’absinthe by Edgar Degas.
The impressionist movement, born in France, occurred in 1874 when artists who did not follow the criteria for showing at the Salon were shut out of the exhibitions. The Académie des Beaux-Arts was founded in 1648 by Charles Lebrun (1619-90) and they decided whose work would be placed in the annual Salon. Works by the impressionist artists to be akin to a sketch or an unfinished piece of art and not suitable for exhibit. Their reaction to being excluded was to have their own exhibitions. The City of Paris became the principal location for impressionists as it had been renovated under Napoleon III between 1853 and 1870. “Its many facets and varied participants make the Impressionist movement difficult to define. Indeed, its life seems as fleeting as the light effects it sought to capture.” (Samu 2000)
Impressionists used everyday scenes for their subjects in an attempt to capture reality. They chose, for their subjects, natural scenes and included the effect light had on their subject. The colors they used were light, vibrant colors to show luminosity. Artists attempted to represent t...

... middle of paper ...

...captured the spirit of the scene. Unlike Monet, he painted indoors and used sketches. They both were great impressionists and showed artistic freedom in their work. They had different ideas, subjects and techniques, but both brought real life of the middle class into their paintings.

Works Cited

Auricchio, Laura. Claude Monet (1840-1926). In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York. 2000. www.metmuseum.org
Carroll, Colleen. Claude Monet 1840-1926. Times of Day in Art. Arts & Activities. Sept 2008. Vol 144. Issue 1. P 24.
Moffat, Charles. French Impressionism. The Art History Archive – Impressionism. 2007. www.arthistoryarchive.com
Potter, Polyxeni. Alone Together Then and Now. Emerging Infectious Diseases. Oct 2009. Vol 15. Issue 10.
Social Studies and Language. Nashville: SW Advantage/Great American, Inc. 2012. Print.

Show More
Related

  • Claude Monet Research Paper

    1371 Words  | 3 Pages

    Claude Monet played an essential role in a development of Impressionism. He created many paintings by capturing powerful art from the world around him. He was born on November 14, 1840, in Paris, France. Later, his family moved to Le Havre, Normandy, France because of his father’s business. Claude Monet did drawings of the nature of Normandy and time spent along the beaches and noticing the nature. As a child, his father had always wanted him to go into the family grocery business, but he was interested in becoming an artist. He was known by people for his charcoal caricatures, this way he made money by selling them by the age of 15. Moreover, Claude went to take drawing lessons with a local artist, but his career in painting had not begun yet. He met artist Eugène Boudin, who became his teacher and taught him to use oil paints. Claude Monet

    Read More

  • Van Gogh Influences

    614 Words  | 2 Pages

    During Vincent Van Gogh’s childhood years, and even before he was born, impressionism was the most common form of art. Impressionism was a very limiting type of art, with certain colors and scenes one must paint with. A few artists had grown tired of impressionism, however, and wanted to create their own genre of art. These artists, including Paul Gaugin, Vincent Van Gogh, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Paul Cezanne, hoped to better express themselves by painting ...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Claude-Oscar Monet's Mouth Of The Seine At Hofleur

    1403 Words  | 3 Pages

    I visited Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California for the first time hoping to learn more about the European artworks this place has to offer. Norton Simon Museum holds the remarkable amounts of artwork by world-renowned artists: Vincent Van Gogh, Rembrandt van Rijin, Caravaggio, Raphael, and Pablo Picasso just to name a few. I observed many European paintings in the 18th to 19th century; I chose to discuss the artwork by the incredible Claude-Oscar Monet. Claude-Oscar Monet’s Mouth of the Seine at Honfleur, 1865 is an oil painting of a seascape on a canvas. The Parisian artist is considered one of the most influential artists in the late nineteenth to early twentieth century.

    Read More

  • Impressionist Paintings as Documents of Paris Capital of Modernity

    1962 Words  | 4 Pages

    The visual appeal of the renovated city, along with other factors such as the high quality of the art schools, caused Impressionism to take off in Paris around this time (Thomson 2000: 19-20). Impressionist painters wanted to capture the present, not historical or idealistic scenes. For this reason, they painted boulevards, parks, train stations, and other places that were important to modern Paris life. Human figures were important subjects in their paintings, since one of the most effective ways to depict modern life is to show the people living in it.

    Read More

  • Neoclassical And Impressionism: The Effects Of Modern Art

    733 Words  | 2 Pages

    Before Impressionism came to be a major movement (around 1870-1800s), Neoclassical and Romanticism were still making their impacts. Remembering last week’s lesson, we know that both those styles were different in the fact that one was based on emotion, while the other was practical and serious. However, one thing they both shared was the fact that the artists were trying to get a message across; mostly having to do with the effects of the French Revolution, and/or being ordered to do so. With Impressionism, there is a clear difference from its predecessors.

    Read More

  • The Influence Of Impressionism In Art

    579 Words  | 2 Pages

    Impressionist painting was the beginning of a cultural shift away from religious and mythic themes, to subjects and styles that are less static such as everyday life of the general people, and the fleeting moments around them. As history progresses, so does art and the movements they create. The impressionism movement started in an already war-ravaged France where the evolution of ideals and way of life were as impermanent as the subject of the paintings of the time.

    Read More

  • Art History Of Impressionism

    1166 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the mid- to late 1800s, a group of artists challenged the conventions that governed artistic expression. These artists, later known as the Impressionists, were initially seen as vulgar and rebellious. It took years for the public and artistic community to accept them and their work. They set up their canvases outside, using wide brush strokes and vibrant colors as they focused on expression over realism.

    Read More

  • Starry Night, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island, Still Life with Basket of Apples

    559 Words  | 2 Pages

    Impressionism is very pretty and complicated. It was from 1860 to 1910. Monet is the perfect Impressionist. Impressionism had its basic tenants. Their subject matter was the middle upper class, the city, and leisurely activities. They painted on en plein air which means they painted outdoors. They painted in snow, rain, storm, just in order to record directly the effects of light and atmosphere. They painted with strokes and touches of pure color by using a great deal of white and rarely black. They recorded the shifting play of light on the surface of objects and the effect light has on the eye without concern for the physicality of the object being painted. They were influenced by Japanese art and photography. One of Monet’s works is titled Water Lilies. The medium of this work is oil on canvas. Monet is an impressionist. He puts up pure color just describe the water. He said, when you go out paint, the impression of the scene not the exact scene.

    Read More

  • Gauguin Where Do We Come From What Are We Where Are We Going

    2218 Words  | 5 Pages

    Rewald, John. Post-Impressionism: From Van Gogh to Gauguin. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1978.

    Read More

  • Modern Art And Modernism

    667 Words  | 2 Pages

    Modernism was a widespread change that took place in the late 19th century that continued throughout the early 20th century. This changed the scientific discovery, political philosophies, industrialization, and the growth of urban centers. During this time art was filled with many new and different ideas and styles, which include painting, sculpture, and so much more. This allowed artists to be free to express their emotion in what they want to do within their artwork. In Paris this launched the movement called Impressionism. Impressionist techniques independently, each artist using short or broken brush strokes that barely take forms, unblended colors, and shadows and highlights of light. Its founding members included Edgar Degas, Vincent Van Gogh, and Auguste Renoir, among many other artists. Their work is acknowledged today for its modernity, which embodied its rejection styles of new ideas that illustrate modern life.

    Read More

  • Monet Vs. Degas: Impressionist Aesthetics

    1022 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although from the same artist group, these Impressionists originated from backgrounds that seemed worlds apart. Claude Monet, known as the “Master Impressionist” varied the themes in his artwork more than any other artist did. Monet’s work “Impression Sunrise”, of which the term “Impressionist” originates also gives rise to the title “Master Impressionist”. Edgar Degas started his career as an artist with nothing in common with Monet but the era in which they lived. From themes to brushstrokes and choices of colours, Monet and Degas started their relationship as Impressionist artists on opposite ends of the earth. However, towards the climax of their lives as artists, Monet aided Degas in adopting Impressionist Aesthetic qualities.

    Read More

  • Claude Monet

    1284 Words  | 3 Pages

    Claude Monet made the art community address a revolutionary type of art called impressionism. In a style not previously before painted, impressionism captured a scene by using bright colors with lots of light and different shades to create the illusion of a glance. The traditional method of working in a studio was discarded and the impressionist artists carried any needed supplies with them into the countryside and painted the complete work outside. The manufacture of portable tin tubes of oil paints as well as the discovery of ways to produce a wider range of chemical pigments allowed artists to paint in a way unimaginable before this period in time (Stuckey 12). Monet and others, such as Pierre Auguste Renior, Paul Cezanne, Edgar Degas, Berthe Morisot, Edouard Manet, Camille Pissarro, and Alfred Sisley, took this style of art to a new level never seen before.

    Read More

  • Role of Colour in Impressionism

    1686 Words  | 4 Pages

    Impressionism grew out of and followed immediately after the Barbizon school. A distinctive feature of the work of the Impressionists was the application of paint in touches of mostly pure colour rather than blended; their pictures appeared more luminous and colourful even than the work of Delacroix, from whom they had learned the technique. To the modern eye, the accepted paintings of the salon artists of the day seem pale and dull.

    Read More

  • A Comparison of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism

    2196 Words  | 5 Pages

    The impressionist movement is often considered to mark the beginning of the modern period of art. It was developed in France during the late 19th century. The impressionist movement arose out of dissatisfaction with the classical, dull subjects and clean cut precise techniques of painting. They preferred to paint outdoors concentrating more on landscapes and street scenes, and began to paint ordinary everyday people and liked to show the effects in natural light.

    Read More

  • The French Revolution & Art

    2050 Words  | 5 Pages

    The French Revolution, indeed, changed the structure of economics and social sphere of the old regime, and also the ideology of that time. In the years that followed the Revolution, the always increasing senses of both freedom and individuality were evident, not only in French society, but also in art. As stated by Dowd, “leaders of the French Revolution consciously employed all forms of art to mobilize public sentiment in favor of the New France and French nationalism.” In between all the artistic areas, the art of painting had a special emphasis. After the Revolution, the French art academies and also schools were now less hierarchical and there was, now, more freedom of engaging into new themes, not being the apprentices so tied up to their masters footsteps, not being so forced to follow them.

    Read More

More about The Impressionists Movement

Open Document