Impressionism v Academic Art

Impressionist pages on this site:

The Impressionist movement challenged traditional art forms in several significant ways:

1. Subject Matter:

Impressionists broke away from the traditional focus on historical, mythological or allegorical subjects favoured by the art establishment.[1][2][3]
Instead, they depicted scenes of modern life, landscapes, and captured fleeting moments and atmospheric effects.[1][2][3]

2. Painting Techniques:

Impressionists rejected the smooth, blended brushwork and precise draftsmanship prized in academic painting.[1][2]
They adopted a new style using visible, broken brushstrokes and unmixed colours applied in separate strokes to capture the changing effects of light.[1][2][3]

3. Plein Air Painting:

Rather than working in a studio, Impressionists frequently painted outdoors (en plein air) to directly observe and capture the transient effects of natural light.[1][2][3]
This allowed for a more spontaneous, immediate style compared to traditional indoor studio painting.[1]

4. Use of Colour:

Impressionists moved away from the muted colour palettes and strict colour theory rules of traditional painting.[1][2] They favoured pure, unmixed colours and experimented with complementary colours to create vibrant optical effects.[1][2][3]

5. Challenging Academic Traditions:

The Impressionists directly challenged the rigid techniques, subjects and standards promoted by the French Academy of Fine Arts.[1][2][3]
Their works were initially rejected by the annual Salon

The influence of Impressionism on later modern art movements and artists

The Impressionist movement had a significant influence on several subsequent art movements in the following ways:

Post-Impressionism emerged as a direct response and reaction to Impressionism in the late 19th century.[1][3]
Artists like Paul Cezanne, Vincent van Gogh, and Paul Gauguin built upon the Impressionists' innovations with colour and brushwork.[1][3]
However, they moved towards greater abstraction, distorted forms, and symbolic/emotional expression rather than just optical impressions.[1][3]

The Fauves (like Henri Matisse) were heavily influenced by the Impressionists' bold use of pure colour and visible brushstrokes.[1][3]
But they pushed colour and non-naturalistic depictions even further, using bright hues expressively rather than just capturing natural light effects.[3]

Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque's pioneering Cubist works were impacted by CÃ©zanne's move towards geometric simplification, which stemmed from Post-Impressionism.[1]
The fragmentation and multiple viewpoints in Cubism related back to the Impressionists' attempts to capture the subjective experience of vision.[1]

While not directly descended from Impressionism, the Expressionists were influenced by the avant-garde mindset and subjective approach of the Impressionists.[1]
The use of distorted forms and bright colours to convey emotion drew some inspiration from the Impressionist colour theory and loose brushwork.[1]
In essence, Impressionism shattered traditional conventions in art and opened the door for generations of avant-garde movements that further explored subjective experience, expressive brushwork, bold colour, and abstraction of form - all pioneered initially by the Impressionists.[1][3]

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