Secondes Scientifique Promotion 4.: Impressionism

dimanche 27 octobre 2013

Impressionism

Impression, Sunrise by Claude MONET

Impressionism is an artistic movement which originated around the end of the 19th century. We could say that this movement is somewhat closer to realism because the artists, influenced by photography, tried to capture moments of everyday life. They painted a landscape the way they saw it, influenced by their emotions and sentiments rather than the mere reality.

The term « Impressionism » is said to have originated from the painting « Impression, sunrise » by Claude Monet. And he is said to be the father of this movement.

Characteristics of this movement:

Light: The artists gave a lot of attention to the effect created by light. And so, they started painting outdoors instead of working in their dark studios. They wanted to capture the fugitive impressions of an outdoor scene.

Colour: The impressionists used lively colours, even for representing shadows. They didn’t mix colours anymore. The image formed in the eyes of the viewer because it was the juxtaposition of the colours used which gave the impression of a shadow.

Brush strokes: The brush strokes were very visible and fragmented which suggest the shapes and volumes. So, the paintings were just abstract unreal visions.

Themes: The impressionists were a bunch of rebels. They started painting everyday moments and nature rather than religious and historical scenes like their predecessors.

Art is no more a representation without life. With impressionism, the artist makes it live with his sentiments and emotions.

To understand this movement better , each one of us has chosen a painting and we presented it to the class explaining and discussing why it belonged to this movement.

Some of the artists we talked about: Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne, Armand Guillaumin, Gustave Caillebote, etc. Here are a few impressionist paintings: