Impressionism & Post-impressionism: My Thoughts
Woman With a Parasol - Madame Monet and Her Son, Claude Monet, Oil, 1875
El Jaleo, John Singer Sargent, Oil, 1882
Impression is characterized by loose, visible brushstrokes, depiction of light, and open composition. Most of its subjects focus on movement.
The term impression was coined in an article by Louis Leroy in the 1874 edition of The Impressionists Exhibition. Leroy coined this term after Monet’s Impression, Sunrise. It left an impression on the canvas, as well as Leroy himself.
At the time, Impression was looked down upon and not seen as “real art”. Because Impression itself breaks down many scholarly and classical techniques. This cause young artist to form anonymous groups and societies where they could celebrate their work. One group, “The Anonymous Society of Painters, Sculptors, Printmakers, etc.” was formed in Paris at the time. Founding members include Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, and Camille Pissarro.
I find Monet’s Woman with a Parasol very endearing because it’s a painting of his wife, Camille and their son. She’s depicted beautifully standing on top of a grassy hill. The day is sunny and the wind blows the ribbons from her hat into her face. A young boy with red cheeks stands in the background. Camille is depicted simply but elegantly. Learning about the subjects of the painting it’s clear that the subjects, especially Camille is depicted with love. It just gives a very whimsical and happy feeling overall.
El Jaleo is just stunning. Singers art always has a dramatic flair to it that I don’t see enough of in Impressionist art. His use of very intense darks and very bright lights add to that. El Jaleohad so much movement. I also love seeing tenebrism in impressionist art.
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, Georges Seurat, Oil, 1884
Wheat Field with Cypresses, Vincent Van Gough, Oil, 1889
Post Impressionism is characterized by both pushing past and extending the limits of Impressionism. Though it’s also characterized my rejecting the limitations all together. While both Impressionism and post Impressionism focus on real life subjects and landscapes, Impressionism focuses on creating movement with loose and visible brushstrokes. Post Impressionism focuses on distorting subjects to make them more expressive as well as exaggerating geometric shapes.
The term post Impressionism was first used in 1906 by artist and critic Roger Fry. It was used again in 1910 during the Manet and the Post-Impressionists exhibition which was organized by Fry. The point of the exhibition was to view the evolution of art since Manet (French modernist painter).
The father of post Impressionism was said to be Paul Cézanne. Google Arts and Culture states:
“With his work he set out to restore a sense of order and structure to painting, and he achieved this by reducing objects to their most basic shapes while retaining the saturated colors of Impressionism. His repetitive and exploratory brushstrokes were typical of Cézanne’s style and by using planes of color he was able to build complex fields and detailed studies of his subjects.”
Cézanne’s work was an inspiration to artists such as Pablo Picasso, Edgar Degas, Paul Gauguin, and Henri Matisse.
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte is a famous and well known piece, most commonly known for the stippling technique. Even as I was writing this my mom looked over my shoulder and wen “Oh! I know that one.” The piece is very shape heavy accentuating the forms and geometric shapes. Not my favorite, but it’s a classic.
Wheat Field with Cypresses by Van Gough is a piece by him that I really love. I love post Impressionism and Impressionism almost equally. They’re two art styles I actively enjoy. Though, I tend to favor Impressionism more because I love the movement. For me personally it’s one of the most important elements of art. It adds so much dynamics and life. That’s why I particularly like Wheat Field with Cypresses. It’s in the style of post Impressionism, very shape heavy, which I love, but it’s still contains movement, compared to A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.
“What Is Post-Impressionist Art?” Google Arts & Culture, artsandculture.google.com/story/what-is-post-impressionist-art/YgVBUtbq8PnjIA?hl=en#.
Samu, Margaret. “Impressionism: Art and Modernity.” Metmuseum.org, 2022, www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/imml/hd_imml.htm#:~:text=In%201874%2C%20a%20group%20of.
Lenet, Mel. “What Defines the Impressionism Style of Art? - Native Visions Galleries.” Native Visions | Art Gallery in Naples & Palm Beach Gardens, 18 Mar. 2021, www.nativevisions.com/what-is-impressionism/.
I also prefer the Impressionist style between these two, the fleeting moments captured in these works are captivating. Sargent's use of tenebrism is beautifully done here. I can almost hear the music playing when I look at "El Jaleo"! The piece is brimming with energy, though the same can be said for much of Van Gogh's art. His bold use of color in pieces like the one above sparks such powerful emotions in a similar way to Sargent's more muted tones and masterful lighting.
ReplyDeleteThere's a ruckus to be had in El Jaleo by John Singer Sargent. Accomplishing so much lighting with a primary monochrome pallet, it highlights the beautiful dancer and casts the piece in eerie shadows. A masterpiece with movement, I already hear the fingers snapping, heels tapping, and the music of singers and guitars. Just like your impression of a Woman with a Parasol, it gives a "happy feeling overall." Impressionism as a whole drives me and the viewer towards a hopeful and endearing time. I greatly appreciate the Post-Impressionist movement, but the breakdown of traditional form, for example, A Sunday Afternoon the Island of La Grande Jatte is "not my favorite."
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