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Module 14
Who doesn't love the Impressionists?
When most people are asked to think of artists, they usually can name a few from this era...Manet, Monet (easy way to remember the difference between these two? Manet painted 'man', (and women...) and Monet is generally not known to do people, but rather Haystacks!
The beautiful thing about Impressionism, is that it is a precursor to the more and more abstract work we will see in the future. They were excited to experiment, and express themselves.
"People discuss my art and pretend to understand as if it were necessary to understand when it's simply necessary to love." Claude Monet
Impressionism-:
From the earliest.." father" of Impressionism, Manet, the torch was passed to Monet and the other Impressionists. Like Manet, their work was seen as scandalous. There were two main reasons for this: the subject matter and the technique. The subject matter was just a more extreme version of the realists except this time it often did not include humans, just haystacks, bridges, or buildings. The technique; however, took the looseness and the painterly-ness of Manet, Courbet, and the Romantics to a new level, especially in terms of color. Monet recognized that color was an effect of light and atmosphere and therefore as the light changed throughout the day and the year, so did the colors! This further undermined the belief in the solidity and the permanence of reality for many of the old guard. Monet's work revealed a world in constant flux and idea that some found threatening. With the Industrial Revolution came inventions like trains, and the invention of tin paint tubes and flat ferrule brushes. This allowed painters like Monet to get out into the countryside and paint with short "tache" or touches of paint.
From the series, Houses of Parliament, by Claude Monet,Between 1899 and 1901
One of the techniques popularized by the Impressionists was the use of 'optical color mixing'. By placing different colors side by side in small dabs, instead of mixing them on the palette, they instead mixed in the eye much like the dots of modern day color printing. In this way the colors maintained their purity and helped to produced brighter more vibrant colors that allowed the impressionists to capture the effects of daylight more convincingly than previous landscape painters.
closer
closer still....
Pointillism (c.1884-1900)
Pointillism (c.1884-1900)
What is Pointillism?
In fine art, the term "pointillism" (from the French word "point" meaning "dot") describes a technique of Neo-Impressionism painting, in which hundreds of small dots or dashes of pure color are applied to the canvas, or other ground, in order to create maximum luminosity. That is, instead of mixing color pigments on a palette and then applying the mixture onto the painting, the Pointillist applies small dots of pure unmixed color directly onto the picture and relies on the eye of the viewer to mix the colors optically.
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, Georges Seurat, 1884–1886 Oil on canvas (81.7 in × 121.25 in)
Detail from Seurat's Parade de cirque, 1889, showing the contrasting dots of paint which define Pointillism
Post Impressionism 1880-1920
Post Impressionism 1880-1920
Post-Impressionism encompasses a wide range of distinct artistic styles that all responded to the opticality of the Impressionist movement. The stylistic variations assembled under the general banner of Post-Impressionism range from the scientifically oriented Neo-Impressionism of Seurat, to the lush symbolism of Gauguin. All post impressionism concentrated on the subjective vision of the artist.
"Nature is not only all that is visible to the eye... it also includes the inner pictures of the soul." Edward Munch
The work of these painters formed a basis for several contemporary trends and for early 20th-century modernism.
Woman Looking in the Mirror, 1892, 92 x 72.5 cm, oil on canvas
Paul Cézanne, c. 1895, Oil on canvas, Post Impressionism
The Post-Impressionists often exhibited together, but, unlike the Impressionists, who began as a close-knit, convivial group, they painted mainly alone. Cézanne painted in isolation at Aix-en-Provence in southern France. Cezanne would be the biggest influence on Cubism (more later)
Cezanne's solitude was matched by that of Paul Gauguin, who in 1891 took up residence in Tahiti, and of Van Gogh, who painted in the countryside at Arles.
Both Gauguin and Van Gogh rejected the indifferent objectivity of Impressionism in favor of a more personal, spiritual expression. The work of these painters formed a basis for several contemporary trends and for early 20th-century modernism.
Copying the pure, flat color, heavy outline, and decorative quality of Japanese prints.
Gauguin especially uses exotic and sensuous color harmonies to create poetic images of the Tahitians among whom he would eventually live.
Gauguin's artwork was a sort of bridge between Impressionism and Fauvism.
Gauguin's artwork was a sort of bridge between Impressionism and Fauvism.
Paul Gauguin, 1891, oil on canvas, (27.2 in × 35.8 in)
Paul Gauguin, 1888, Oil on canvas, (28.4 in × 35.8 in)
Arriving in Paris in 1886, the Dutch painter Van Gogh quickly adapted Impressionist techniques and color to express his acutely felt emotions. He transformed the contrasting short brushstrokes of Impressionism into curving, vibrant lines of color, exaggerated even beyond Impressionist brilliance, that convey his emotionally charged and ecstatic responses to the natural landscape.
His work was a sort of bridge between Impressionism and Expressionism.
His work was a sort of bridge between Impressionism and Expressionism.
The Starry Night, oil on canvas by Vincent van Gogh, 1889
Really interesting piece about the making of the film Loving Vincent, which is worth viewing.
Café Terrace at Night, Van Gogh, September, 1888
One of my favorites!
Fauvism and Cubism
Fauvism and Cubism
Fauvism is the style of les Fauves (French for"wild beasts"), and was the first twentieth-century movement in modern art.
It was initially inspired by the examples of Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Georges Seurat, and Paul Cézanne. The Fauves: Andre Derain, and especially Matisse were the main artist. They used intense color as a vehicle for describing light and space and redefined pure color and form as means of communicating the artist's emotional state.
In these regards, Fauvism proved to be an important precursor to Cubism and Expressionism as well as a touchstone for future modes of abstraction.
The paintings of the Fauves were characterized by seemingly wild brush work and strident colors, while their subject matter had a high degree of simplification and abstraction, but was still representational. It was a period that lasted a few short years 1904-1908 and had but 3 exhibitions. Still, its style influenced art for years to come.
The Dessert: Harmony in Red (The Red Room) Henri Matisse, 1908
"Matisse" 1911 Andre Derain
The Green Stripe, Henri Matisse (portrait of his wife, Amélie Noellie Matisse-Parayre.) 1905
Amazing to see that all form is just brush marks!
The Cubist art movement began in Paris around 1907.
The Cubist art movement began in Paris around 1907.
Led by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, the Cubists broke from centuries of tradition in their painting by rejecting the single viewpoint. Instead, they used a system in which three-dimensional subjects were fragmented and redefined from several different points of view simultaneously.
Led by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, the Cubists broke from centuries of tradition in their painting by rejecting the single viewpoint. Instead, they used a system in which three-dimensional subjects were fragmented and redefined from several different points of view simultaneously.
The movement was conceived as ‘a new way of representing the world’, and assimilated outside influences, such as African art, as well as new theories on the nature of reality, such as Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.
Cubism is often divided into two phases:
– the Analytic phase (1907-12), and the Synthetic phase (1913 through the 1920s).
The Analytic phase Broke down space, and viewpoints and fractured the composition. The initial phase attempted to show objects as the mind, not the eye, perceives them. The technique of faceting originated from Georges Braques - it was his way of depicting a natural object.
The Synthetic phase was more about a playful re-combining of elements with collage, color etc. and featured works that were composed of fewer and simpler forms, in brighter colors. Other major exponents of Cubism included Robert Delaunay, Francis Picabia, Jean Metzinger, Marcel Duchamp and Fernand Léger.
Picasso didn't so much facet natural objects but used the geometry of Braques' faceted paintings to create a style that was abstract, almost pure abstracted art.
Analytic cubism is seen below in Braque's work (breaking down of images) and Synthetic is seen below in Picasso's The Musicians (putting things together (building up), brighter colors and forms.)
Violin and Candlestick, Georges Braque 1910, oil on canvas, (24 in. x 19 3/4 in.)
Three Musicians, Pablo Picasso (1921), oil on canvas
Can you tell which is analytic and which is synthetic cubism?
Guernica by Pablo Picasso. 1937. Oil on canvas. (137.4 in × 305.5 in)
Unfortunately, art amidst war is not only something of the past.
Contemporary Artist(s) of the week:
The acclaimed documentary "Porcelain War" has reached the Oscar shortlist. It follows the Kharkiv-based artists Slava Leontyev and Anya Stasenko, who craft delicate porcelain figurines. Even amid the raging war Russia has inflicted on their homeland, the couple continued to produce their art despite rolling blackouts and Slava's new job training recruits for the front. In conversation with Hari Sreenivasan, Slava Leontyev — who co-directed the documentary — and filmmaker Brendan Bellomo discuss why they believe that art is vital to Ukrainian resistance. Originally aired on January 13, 2025
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