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The Impressionists revolutionised the use of colour in painting through several innovative techniques:
Impressionist pages on this site:
1. They favoured vibrant, luminous colours like blues, greens, purples, and yellows to capture the effects of natural light and atmosphere.[1] This was a departure from the more muted earth tones traditionally used.
2. They often applied unmixed, pure colours directly from the tube in small strokes side-by-side, allowing the colours to optically blend from a distance.[5] This “broken colour” technique created a shimmering, vibrant effect.
3. They used complementary colours (opposites on the colour wheel like blue and orange) placed next to each other, which made the colours appear even more intense and vibrant.[2]
4. They avoided mixing colours on the palette, instead mixing optically by layering strokes of different colours.[4] This maintained the purity and vibrancy of the colours.
5. They used colourful greys made by mixing warm and cool desaturated colours rather than black or brown.[1] This added luminosity and atmosphere to their paintings.
6. They incorporated more colour into shadows, using blues, purples, and greens instead of just black or brown.[5] This captured the effects of coloured light in shadows.
In essence, the Impressionists’ innovative use of pure, vibrant colours applied with broken brushwork and optical colour mixing allowed them to capture the fleeting effects of light and atmosphere in a revolutionary way.[1][2][5]
Sources
Sources
[1] The Impressionists’ Palette: Capturing True Light with colour https://www.malcolmdeweyfineart.com/blog/the-impressionists-palette-capturing-true-light-with-colour
[2] Impressionist colour (article) | Khan Academy https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-modern/avant-garde-france/impressionism/a/impressionist-colour
[3] What’s the Impressionist Way of Painting with colour? - Artists Network https://www.artistsnetwork.com/art-techniques/colour-mixing/whats-the-impressionist-way-of-painting-with-colour/
[4] Impressionist Painting Techniques - Jackson’s Art Blog https://www.jacksonsart.com/blog/2015/04/24/impressionist-painting-techniques/
[5] Impressionist Art Movement - Masters Of Light And colour https://drawpaintacademy.com/impressionist-art-movement/
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