Impressionism
Impressionism is a pictorial style that originated in France in the second half of the 19th century. It is characterized by its persistent experimentation with lighting (similar to luminism). The handling of light is considered a crucial factor for achieving beauty and balance in painting.
Impressionist paintings are technically constructed from rough patches of colors, which act as points of a broader polychromy, that is the work itself. Therefore, when observing the canvases, it is necessary to take a certain distance, so that lights, shadows, and figures appear.
Historical Context of Impressionist Art
The emergence of Impressionism occurs as a consequence of a very important social change; during the late 18th century and the first half of the 19th century, the following transformations occur: industrial revolution, French revolution, Napoleon's empire, restoration of social movements, and bourgeois reforms. The Rationalist philosophy of the enlightenment fades along with Romanticism, leaving behind the stylistics where feeling, imagination, and passions govern the arts. Now nationalist and socialist ideas color collective thought.
By the second half of the 19th century (the period in which Impressionism was born), there was economic growth in Europe. The intensification of trade and technical progress led to the consolidation of the bourgeoisie. Social classes were reorganized, and socialist leaders from all over Europe met to discuss these changes. The philosophy of the time was positivist and realist, where things were tested and transformation of the world was demanded. Art changed along with society.
Origin of the Name
In 1874, the first exhibition of a group of young painters was organized in the "Société Anonyme Coopérative des Artistes, Peintres, Sculpteurs, Graveurs", Paris. In this exhibition, the impressionist artistic style was named after the famous artwork “Impression” (1874), by Claude Monet.
Nature of the Style
The style is classified as the first break in the process that would lead to modern art. In the paintings from the early 19th century, landscapes and still lifes were not valued, so Impressionism not only opens the viewer's eyes to technique but also to a variety of shapes and the capture of everyday landscapes seen from the most ingenious perspectives. The colors are pure, little mixed, and combined in forms of extreme naturalism. The guidelines that consummate this trend are: the movement of the landscape, the naturalness of the forms, and purity.
Impressionist Painters
What unites these geniuses of painting is the intention to reproduce scenes of everyday life in a creative way. Most of the time, they can be clearly distinguished by their aesthetics, blurred images, and works of an unfinished appearance.
Among the most famous impressionist artists are (in chronological order):
- Camille Pissarro (1830-1903).
- Édouard Manet (1832-1883).
- Edgar Degas (1834-1917).
- Alfred Sisley (1839-1899).
- Paul Cézanne (1839-1906).
- Claude Monet (1840-1926).
- Jean-Frédéric Bazille (1841-1870).
- Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919).
- Berthe Morisot (1841-1895).
- Mary Cassatt (1844-1926).
- Gustave Caillebotte (1848-1894).
These painters have demonstrated that art can be created by looking at the same thing in different ways, instead of seeking a different landscape or object each time. In this way, they responded to the social controversy of the moment: An order can be created for everyone equally, asking for the collaboration of each social group, rather than power shifting from one political group to another.
Examples of Impressionist paintings in the store:
