Impressionism (Contextual Studies)
Impressionism, much like Romanticism and Realism before it, represented a protest against what had proceeded it. Impressionist artists made a strong effort to break free of what was considered the acceptable norm by breaking the understanding of composition and colour. Spurred on by advances made in industry and production, art would develop a great deal. Manufactured paint colours, photography and the steam locomotive would all push the boundaries of what an artist could achieve. As a result, Impressionism is an art movement of wide scope and innovation.
During the mid 19th century (around the 1860s), the Industrial Revolution had begun. The age of steam was well underway, and machinery was making it's way into factories and the every day lives of the public. Factories and farms would stop using horses and manual labour, and opt for machinery and oily tools. Landscapes changed drastically, chimney stacks rising into the skyline and large factories and buildings would cause towns and villages to grow exponentially. Railways stretched across Europe, with locomotives making it easy for people to travel and change their scenery, something that had been considerably difficult to do in times prior. Artists like Alfred Sisley would use these means to their advantage, travelling to different locations to recreate wonderful landscapes.
Photography was now accessible to some, Kodak producing a portable camera that could be taken outdoors and into wild and urban environments. Photography would change the art world in two very significant ways. The first was the ability to capture a moment in time, to reference a singular moment for a vast period of time. The second was to change the way artists considered composition. Looking through a camera lens allowed artists to picture and set up images unlike what they were used to. The composition of a piece became paramount, and would be key in forcing the Impressionists away from the classical teachings of art. Edgar Degas used Photography to create his compositions and capture movement in his work. Something that previously had been impossible to study accurately.
With various colours of paints now being manufactured, colour pallets were opened up considerably. Impressionist painters could now create more varied colour pallets. It would lead to a great experimentation with colour, resulting in two significant traits of Impressionism. The first would be the abandonment of black, opting to use darker shades and tones instead of mixing pure black. And the second was best represented by Claude Monet, who started to use complimentary colours in his work to convey a vibrant and colourful version of light and how it interacted with different colour.
Alfred Sisley was a French Artist who travelled mostly between France and Great Britain, retaining a British citizenship. Unlike most of his peers, Sisley would dedicate his life almost entirely to the ideals of Impressionism. His landscapes are colourful, picturesque, and incredibly beautiful. Above is a painting from 1870, depicting St. Martin Canal. Sisley preferred and often opted to paint 'Plein Air', meaning he would work outdoors with the landscape in front of him. His use of colour would rival that of fellow Impressionist Claude Monet, adopting a firm belief in contrasting complimentary colours. Here he uses cool blues contrast with warm yellows and oranges to create light and tone.
Church in Moret from later in his career, 1889, would follow a similar pallet. Warm yellows and oranges against cool blues. Purple can be seen in his shading, creating a vibrant and very layered shadow against the yellow texture of the church. By now he was steering away from using black in his paintings, his brush strokes were much more visible and expressive. The overall effect creates a very soft and real feeling composition, and gives the landscape a real sense of time and depth. Although Sisley would dabble in figure painting, he would never truly move away from Impressionist landscapes, right up until his death in 1899.
Artists like Edgar Degas benefited from other aspects of technological advancements. Possibly the most influential artists of the Impressionism movement, Degas would adapt and use photography in his work in ways which had never been considered before. He would go on to paint the same image, in some form, multiple times, now able to use the same references from photographs. In much of his work, similar themes are consistent across many images. Degas would appreciate and utilise two of Photography's major advantages. The first being able to capture a moment in motion, something he would do frequently in his work. The above image, A Cotton Office in New Orleans from 1873 shows many people in the midst of their busy activities, a painting that could not really exist through traditional means.
The Dance Class, from 1876 follows a similar thought process. Able to capture multiple subjects in natural movements and environments, photography has allowed him to continually reference a singular moment in time. Both The Dance Class and A Cotton Office in New Orleans also take a new approach to composition. This is hugely influenced by photography, as looking through a camera lens allows artists to frame off a scene in front of them, and quickly create compositions in real time. This new way of looking at the world opened up many new avenues for artists. Degas breaks all the rules with these two images, cutting off characters and subjects. The overall effect is the suggestion that the image is only part of the environment, and suggests to us that there's more. It creates a sense of immersion. Personally I find this style of composition feels more natural and organic, less organised and staged.
Claude Monet is widely considered to be one of the leading forces behind the main ideals of impressionism. Like Degas, he was known for painting the same, or similar subjects repetitively, and like Sisley, his use of colour broke the mould for what was known at the time. La Gare Saint-Lazare from 1877, shows what can be achieved without relying on the colour black. With various of colours of paint tubes now available, artists did not have to rely on darker and simpler colour choices. This allowed artists to be much more creative with their pallets. In particular, black would become less dominant, shades and tints being created with coloured greys and blues. In this painting of a Paris train station, Monet breaks form and shape, letting colour dominate his composition. The result is a natural and authentic feeling.
Wheatstacks (End of Summer) depicts one of Monet's more common subjects. Painted in 1891, it's one of many images created by Monet of haystacks. Monet used these as subjects to experiment with colour and how colour interacted with light. He used complimentary colours in the shadows of his objects, instead of greys and blacks. For example, the shadow of the orange tinted haystack has elements of blue and purple mixed into it's shadow, which is turn is offset by the yellow light on the ground. These simple compositions allowed Monet to really experiment with colour. Although these colours are not realistic, they ironically add an extra level of realism to the image, a sort of atmosphere that most people can sense and relate to.
Impressionism was inspired by the technological advances of the time period. This was not something I had ever considered before. For some reason, to me, art and technology functioned independently of each other. I had never suspected that the camera would have played such a massive role in breaking down some of arts more traditional boundaries. To me, Impressionism is where art gets really interesting. Artists start to break away from what they learnt, and go on experimental and revolutionary routes. Colour and composition are broken wide open, and travel abolishes limitations. I can imagine being an artist in this time frame, being excited that these avenues were now open to them. I like to think that Impressionism was not so much a response or a protest to Realism or Romanticism, but a valiant charge into the future, the unknown. From here on out, art becomes less of a luxury for the wealthy and privileged, but a playground of experimentation.
During the mid 19th century (around the 1860s), the Industrial Revolution had begun. The age of steam was well underway, and machinery was making it's way into factories and the every day lives of the public. Factories and farms would stop using horses and manual labour, and opt for machinery and oily tools. Landscapes changed drastically, chimney stacks rising into the skyline and large factories and buildings would cause towns and villages to grow exponentially. Railways stretched across Europe, with locomotives making it easy for people to travel and change their scenery, something that had been considerably difficult to do in times prior. Artists like Alfred Sisley would use these means to their advantage, travelling to different locations to recreate wonderful landscapes.
Photography was now accessible to some, Kodak producing a portable camera that could be taken outdoors and into wild and urban environments. Photography would change the art world in two very significant ways. The first was the ability to capture a moment in time, to reference a singular moment for a vast period of time. The second was to change the way artists considered composition. Looking through a camera lens allowed artists to picture and set up images unlike what they were used to. The composition of a piece became paramount, and would be key in forcing the Impressionists away from the classical teachings of art. Edgar Degas used Photography to create his compositions and capture movement in his work. Something that previously had been impossible to study accurately.
With various colours of paints now being manufactured, colour pallets were opened up considerably. Impressionist painters could now create more varied colour pallets. It would lead to a great experimentation with colour, resulting in two significant traits of Impressionism. The first would be the abandonment of black, opting to use darker shades and tones instead of mixing pure black. And the second was best represented by Claude Monet, who started to use complimentary colours in his work to convey a vibrant and colourful version of light and how it interacted with different colour.
Alfred Sisley was a French Artist who travelled mostly between France and Great Britain, retaining a British citizenship. Unlike most of his peers, Sisley would dedicate his life almost entirely to the ideals of Impressionism. His landscapes are colourful, picturesque, and incredibly beautiful. Above is a painting from 1870, depicting St. Martin Canal. Sisley preferred and often opted to paint 'Plein Air', meaning he would work outdoors with the landscape in front of him. His use of colour would rival that of fellow Impressionist Claude Monet, adopting a firm belief in contrasting complimentary colours. Here he uses cool blues contrast with warm yellows and oranges to create light and tone.
Church in Moret from later in his career, 1889, would follow a similar pallet. Warm yellows and oranges against cool blues. Purple can be seen in his shading, creating a vibrant and very layered shadow against the yellow texture of the church. By now he was steering away from using black in his paintings, his brush strokes were much more visible and expressive. The overall effect creates a very soft and real feeling composition, and gives the landscape a real sense of time and depth. Although Sisley would dabble in figure painting, he would never truly move away from Impressionist landscapes, right up until his death in 1899.
Artists like Edgar Degas benefited from other aspects of technological advancements. Possibly the most influential artists of the Impressionism movement, Degas would adapt and use photography in his work in ways which had never been considered before. He would go on to paint the same image, in some form, multiple times, now able to use the same references from photographs. In much of his work, similar themes are consistent across many images. Degas would appreciate and utilise two of Photography's major advantages. The first being able to capture a moment in motion, something he would do frequently in his work. The above image, A Cotton Office in New Orleans from 1873 shows many people in the midst of their busy activities, a painting that could not really exist through traditional means.
The Dance Class, from 1876 follows a similar thought process. Able to capture multiple subjects in natural movements and environments, photography has allowed him to continually reference a singular moment in time. Both The Dance Class and A Cotton Office in New Orleans also take a new approach to composition. This is hugely influenced by photography, as looking through a camera lens allows artists to frame off a scene in front of them, and quickly create compositions in real time. This new way of looking at the world opened up many new avenues for artists. Degas breaks all the rules with these two images, cutting off characters and subjects. The overall effect is the suggestion that the image is only part of the environment, and suggests to us that there's more. It creates a sense of immersion. Personally I find this style of composition feels more natural and organic, less organised and staged.
Claude Monet is widely considered to be one of the leading forces behind the main ideals of impressionism. Like Degas, he was known for painting the same, or similar subjects repetitively, and like Sisley, his use of colour broke the mould for what was known at the time. La Gare Saint-Lazare from 1877, shows what can be achieved without relying on the colour black. With various of colours of paint tubes now available, artists did not have to rely on darker and simpler colour choices. This allowed artists to be much more creative with their pallets. In particular, black would become less dominant, shades and tints being created with coloured greys and blues. In this painting of a Paris train station, Monet breaks form and shape, letting colour dominate his composition. The result is a natural and authentic feeling.
Wheatstacks (End of Summer) depicts one of Monet's more common subjects. Painted in 1891, it's one of many images created by Monet of haystacks. Monet used these as subjects to experiment with colour and how colour interacted with light. He used complimentary colours in the shadows of his objects, instead of greys and blacks. For example, the shadow of the orange tinted haystack has elements of blue and purple mixed into it's shadow, which is turn is offset by the yellow light on the ground. These simple compositions allowed Monet to really experiment with colour. Although these colours are not realistic, they ironically add an extra level of realism to the image, a sort of atmosphere that most people can sense and relate to.
Impressionism was inspired by the technological advances of the time period. This was not something I had ever considered before. For some reason, to me, art and technology functioned independently of each other. I had never suspected that the camera would have played such a massive role in breaking down some of arts more traditional boundaries. To me, Impressionism is where art gets really interesting. Artists start to break away from what they learnt, and go on experimental and revolutionary routes. Colour and composition are broken wide open, and travel abolishes limitations. I can imagine being an artist in this time frame, being excited that these avenues were now open to them. I like to think that Impressionism was not so much a response or a protest to Realism or Romanticism, but a valiant charge into the future, the unknown. From here on out, art becomes less of a luxury for the wealthy and privileged, but a playground of experimentation.
Practical Work
For my Impressionism practical work, I tended to stick to the exploration of colour use and the way in which the paint was applied. I struggle with painting as a medium, it's not my comfort zone, so for me this was a considerable change and not one I approached without concerns.
This painting is a small segment of one of Monet's Haystack paintings. As painting was so foreign to me, I tried to work hard on my application, to give the pain texture even though I was only using Acrylics and not oils. I tried to really layer it on to give it it's own shape and form. I tried to use reds and oranges to compliment the greens, but I don't think it worked too well. The blues didn't show up as much as I like, and I feel it feel a little flat. Despite this, this little experiment really taught me a lot about painting and the medium.
Another replica of a Monet, this time from one of the 19 Houses of Parliament. This one I was picked up on immediately because I'd under-painted the background a green colour. My intention was to create an atmosphere that I could layer pale colours on top of to create a similar look to Monet's paintings. I tried to stick to greens and reds at various shades for this, and honestly, I was quite happy with it until I learned that most Impressionist paintings (and definitely Monet's) were built up from a white background.
Trying to correct my mistake from my last painting, I did another sky scene from Monet's Sunrise. I was quite pleased with this, though it did come out a little murkier than I was expecting. The colours are great and so subtle, using yellows and purples, and then the vibrant orange against the soft blue. I love how it's so minor and barely noticeable, but it has such an effect. I'm glad I gave this another go as I much prefer this to my earlier attempt.
Experimenting with Impressionism has taught me a lot about painting in general more than anything else. I've picked up a few useful techniques that I now use by default. Mostly application methods. It helped me to increase my speed and be a little freer with how I was working. The colours used in impressionism, the complimentary colours, is something I always have in my head when I'm painting or designing something.
Comments
Post a Comment