The Impressionism Movement

Impressionism is an art style that was developed in France in the 19th century. Many famous artists, including Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, and Mary Cassatt, practiced this style. Paintings in this style were usually landscapes, or scenes within modern life (Or what was considered modern in the 19th century) (Seiberling). They often aren’t telling a narrative like some paintings, capturing a small, mundane moment in time (Seiberling).

Impressionism paintings are very recognizable, with their loose paint strokes and use of color. Many famous paintings include Monet’s “Water Lillies”, “Impression Sunrise”, Manet’s “Olympia”, Georges Seurat’s “A Sunday Afternoon On The Island Of La Grande Jatte” and many more. Even if a person does not know anything about the impressionism movement, they will likely recognize these paintings. 

Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare, oil on canvas by Claude Monet, 1877; in the Art Institute of Chicago.

The Impressionism movement originated from landscape and realism painting in France around 1860, with most artists being young, in their 20’s (Seiberling). Most of these artists had formal training at renowned art schools, such as Ecole des Beaux-Arts, where artists like Monet and Manet were students at (Seiberling). The style had Barbizon influence, using earthy, and darker colors. As time went on though, their palettes lightened, and their colors became more intense and vibrant (Seiberling).

“How The Impressionists Redefined Art (Waldemar Januszczak Documentary) | Perspective” is an episode of a Documentary series in which art writer Waldemar Januszczak explores the impressionism movement and the artists within it. This first Episode goes over how the impressionism movement “Redefined” art. At first, he speaks about how despite during the time of the artist's lifetimes they were not as well known, their art has now become very commercialized, being on chocolate boxes, and t-shirts. 

The first painter he goes over is Camille Pissarro, who is widely considered the “Father” of impressionism (Januszczak). He was born in the Virgin Islands on July 10th, 1830. Pissarro is the reason many impressionist painters came together, acting as the glue that held them together (Januszczak). Out of the 8 Impressionism exhibitions, Pissarro was the only artist who appeared in all of them (Januszczak). Pissarro was Jewish, which is a direct obstacle for painting, as those who are Jewish are not supposed to create anything to the likeness of any of God's creations, which is why there are no sculptures and paintings in synagogues (Januszczak).

The Boulevard Montmartre on a Winter Morning, oil on canvas by Camille Pissarro, 1897; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. 64.8 × 81.3 cm.

One day, Pissarro met Claude Monet, another famous Impressionism painter (Januszczak). He started showing promise when he was 14 or 15,  drawing funny cartoon character versions of people around him (Januszczak). He began to think about becoming a real artist, but the art at the time was perfect, smooth, glossy paintings of figures, such as Venus (Januszczak). But this was not what Moent wanted. He wanted to do art that was things around him, everyday life (Januszczak). Monet would sneak away and go painting with Pissaro, in the forest or at rivers (Januszczak). 

Water Lily Pond, oil on canvas by Claude Monet, 1900; in the Art Institute of Chicago

These impressionist artists are 2 of the most well-known. Pissaro also met Cézanne and Guillaumin during his time at the Académie Suisse, Paris (Seiberling). The Académie Suisse was an art school, which had no actual instruction. Instead, it only had a model, and the artist got to decide how and what they drew (Januszczak). This gave many artists the freedom they desired. 

The Bridge of Louis Philippe, oil on canvas by Armand Guillaumin, 1875; in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Another famous painter is Édouard Manet. He was born on January 23, 1832. He is most known for his painting “Olympia”, which caused a big scandal (Courthion). The lighting in the painting makes the model look almost 2 dimensional, which was the exact opposite of most work being produced at the time. It was also considered indecent, as the model was fully nude and exposed, the lighting of the painting highlighting this (Courthion). 

Le Déjeuner sur l'Herbe by Édouard Manet, 1863, in the Musée d'Orsay, Paris France.

Edgar Degas is another very famous impressionist artist, who never actually referred to himself as an impressionist artist. He preferred the terms “Independent” or “Realist” (Schenkel). Degas was born in 1834 and was of rich standing. He was very educated, including classics like Latin and Greek (Schenkel). His father saw his potential in art and encouraged him by taking him to museums (Schenkel). What made him stand out from other non-impressionist painters of the time was his choice of subject matter. He preferred ballet dancers, laundresses, and the “Lowlife” of Paris (Schenkel). 

At the Milliner's by Edgar Degas, 1882, in the The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 816

These artist all are amazing, but leaves the question of why they chose this style of painting, instead of going with the status quo. Was it rebellion, or true innovation? I wish to read more and learn more about these artists, and explore their motivation to go against the normal, and what about everyday life inspired them.