An introduction to Impressionism:
The story of art, as E.H. Gombrich wrote, is not one of linear progress but of constant change, imitation, and reaction.
To understand Impressionism, which sprung up in mid-19th century France, you've got to understand what it was responding to: the Académie des Beaux-Arts.
To understand Impressionism, which sprung up in mid-19th century France, you've got to understand what it was responding to: the Académie des Beaux-Arts.
The Académie des Beaux-Arts was a French fine arts school which not only taught young artists but also set the aesthetic standards and methods of the age.
And they prioritised a very particular type of painting based on the ideas of the Renaissance...
And they prioritised a very particular type of painting based on the ideas of the Renaissance...
Academicism as a style was about strong outlines, clear composition, correct shading, and linear perspective.
So, picture yourself in the mid-19th century. This is the sort of work being taught, promoted, and celebrated by the Academy:
So, picture yourself in the mid-19th century. This is the sort of work being taught, promoted, and celebrated by the Academy:
There had already been some anti-establishment painters such as J.M.W. Turner and Gustave Courbet, both of whom rejected the methods and principles of Academicism.
Just look at Turner's loose brushwork or Courbet's interest in ordinary subjects:
Just look at Turner's loose brushwork or Courbet's interest in ordinary subjects:
This reaction against Academicism was taken up by a group of young artists in the 1860s, who all met while learning the Academic style.
They were Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, and Frederic Bazille; and their leader was the slightly older Edouard Manet...
They were Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, and Frederic Bazille; and their leader was the slightly older Edouard Manet...
The first thing to note about them is their preference for colour rather than outlines and perspective.
Their paintings were much brighter and more vivid than those of the Academic style. Rather than making a perfect sketch and filling it with colour later, colour came first.
Their paintings were much brighter and more vivid than those of the Academic style. Rather than making a perfect sketch and filling it with colour later, colour came first.
In this way, Monet and his contemporaries weren't quite revolutionaries.
Rather, their preference for colour over drawing was directly inspired by a similar divergence in 16th century Italy, during the Renaissance.
Rather, their preference for colour over drawing was directly inspired by a similar divergence in 16th century Italy, during the Renaissance.
Whereas the great Florentine artists - Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael - had prioritised lines, contours, and forms, the Venetian painters of the same era - foremost among them Titian - had placed more importance on colour and its effect:
It is somehow fitting that the Impressionists later came to paint Venice with such brilliance, as the ancestral home of their artistic modus operandi.
As in these two paintings of the Grand Canal, by Monet and Manet respectively:
As in these two paintings of the Grand Canal, by Monet and Manet respectively:
The Impressionists were also inspired by Japanese wood-block prints, which had started coming into Europe.
They featured ordinary subjects, bold colours, and "snapshot" compositions with angles that would have been heresy in the Academy:
They featured ordinary subjects, bold colours, and "snapshot" compositions with angles that would have been heresy in the Academy:
You can see this "snapshot" effect in something like Two Dancers, by Edgar Degas, which also features poses unlike anything the Academy would have taught:
However, the Impressionists - like the Academy - were still trying to depict reality; there's nothing abstract about their work.
But Academicism was all about *studio* painting, with carefully orchestrated lighting and placement of subjects.
But Academicism was all about *studio* painting, with carefully orchestrated lighting and placement of subjects.
The Impressionists knew that *real life* rarely looks like it does in a studio.
There is so much movement; we glimpse things out of the corners of our eyes; there is mist and smog; perspective is sometimes flattened; the sun causes violent differences in light and dark...
There is so much movement; we glimpse things out of the corners of our eyes; there is mist and smog; perspective is sometimes flattened; the sun causes violent differences in light and dark...
Indeed, there is nothing abstract or "unrealistic" about Monet's famous paintings of lilies and the bridge in his garden.
Rather, it can somehow feel *more real* than a photographic depiction or an actual photograph ever could:
Rather, it can somehow feel *more real* than a photographic depiction or an actual photograph ever could:
And so the Impressionists started painting on the fly, outdoors, out and about, with their easels and bundles of brushes.
This explains that brightness to their work; they painted what they saw, including bright blue skies and sunlight reflected on water or dappled by leaves...
This explains that brightness to their work; they painted what they saw, including bright blue skies and sunlight reflected on water or dappled by leaves...
The practice of painting outside, in uncontrolled conditions, and with emphasis on movement and colour and the *real* impression of light, naturally brought with it different techniques.
Just look at the visible brush-strokes and blurred colours of Haystacks, by Claude Monet:
Just look at the visible brush-strokes and blurred colours of Haystacks, by Claude Monet:
The Impressionist method was totally at odds with that of the Academy, where outlines were clear, strokes carefully concealed, and colours separated.
You can see why the Impressionists caused such a stir when this is what people had come to expect:
You can see why the Impressionists caused such a stir when this is what people had come to expect:
This naturally coincided with an interest in different subject matters.
Academicism had been all about grand, Classical, and Biblical themes. Consider the Birth of Venus, which was painted again and again and again...
Academicism had been all about grand, Classical, and Biblical themes. Consider the Birth of Venus, which was painted again and again and again...
The Impressionists, meanwhile, were far more interested in every day subjects, whether the hustle and bustle of Pissarro's Boulevard Montmartre or the steam and cast iron of Monet's Gare Saint-Lazare:
Where does the term "Impressionism" come from?
Just like Gothic, Mannerist, and Baroque, it was originally an insult. When Monet's "Impression, Sunrise" was exhibited in Paris in 1874, an art critic called Louis Leroy coined the term pejoratively.
Just like Gothic, Mannerist, and Baroque, it was originally an insult. When Monet's "Impression, Sunrise" was exhibited in Paris in 1874, an art critic called Louis Leroy coined the term pejoratively.
Monet and his gang took on this term as a badge of honour, despite the mockery and criticism of the artistic establishment.
Little could Leroy have known that, within a few decades, these silly Impressionists would have far eclipsed the Academy in popularity and influence...
Little could Leroy have known that, within a few decades, these silly Impressionists would have far eclipsed the Academy in popularity and influence...
Impressionism in the strictest sense soon evolved and splintered into several different artistic movements.
It had broken the monopoly of the Academy and thrown open the doors of possibility. Art was no longer shackled... it could be anything.
It had broken the monopoly of the Academy and thrown open the doors of possibility. Art was no longer shackled... it could be anything.
Post-Impressionism moved further away from realism, making greater use of distortion, vivid colours, unnatural perspective, blocky or unusual geometry. It was more about *feeling* than *seeing*.
From the Symbolism of Gaugin to the Cubism of Cezanne and the swirls of Van Gogh:
From the Symbolism of Gaugin to the Cubism of Cezanne and the swirls of Van Gogh:
And that, with many details elided, is a brief introduction to Impressionism.
Many of the most enduringly popular painters are from this relatively short artistic era, and their initial rejection by the establishment has set the standard for artistic rebellion ever since.
Many of the most enduringly popular painters are from this relatively short artistic era, and their initial rejection by the establishment has set the standard for artistic rebellion ever since.
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