Impressionism

Introduction and Background

Impressionism
A French 19th century art movement which
marked a momentous break from tradition in
European painting.
It started in 1847 and originated with a group of
Paris-based artists called the Anonymous Society of
Painters, Sculptors, Printmakers, etc., whose
independentexhibitionsbrought them to prominence
during the 1870s and 1880s.


Acadmie des Beaux-Arts

The Acadmie was the preserver of traditional French painting standards of

content and style.

Historical subjects, religious themes, and portraits were valued. Landscape

and still life were not.
Preferred nished images that looked realistic when examined closely.
Colour was restrained and often toned down further by the application of a
golden varnish.

Salons des
Refuss

Socit Anonyme des

Artistes Peintres,
Sculpteurs,
Graveurs, etc.


A diverse group of painters, rejected by the art
establishment, deantly set up their own
exhibition. They includedMonet,Renoir,
PissarroandDegas.

Louis Leroy


Claude Monets painting entitled Impression,
Sunrise (Impression, Soleil Levant), 1872

ImpressionI was certain of it. I was

just telling myself that, since I was
impressed, there had to be some impression
in it ... and what freedom, what ease of
workmanship! Wallpaper in its embryonic
state is more nished than that seascape.


Impressionist techniques:
Short, thick strokes of paint (impasto)
Colours are applied side-by-side with as little mixing as possible
Grays and dark tones are produced by mixingcomplementary
colours.
Wet paint is placed into wet paintwithout waiting for successive
applications to dry,
The impressionist painting surface is typically opaque.
The paint is applied to a white or light-coloured ground.
The play of natural light is emphasized. (eets de soir)
In paintings madeen plein air(outdoors), shadows are boldly
painted with the blue of the sky as it is reected onto surfaces

Mary Cassatt,Lydia
Leaning on Her
Arms(in a theatre
box), 1879


Renoir,The Ski (La Yole), 1875

Content and Composition

Resembled a snapshot, a part of a larger reality captured as
if by chance
Sought to express their perceptions of nature
Oered a subjective alternative to the photograph
Often focusing on scenes of public leisure - especially scenes of
cafes and cabarets
Japaneseukiyo-eart prints (Japonism) contributed
signicantly to the snapshot angles and unconventional
compositions
Daily life of local villagers in Pontoise, most preferred to
depict the vacationers rural pastimes.


Berthe Morisot,Reading,1873,

Degas,Beach Scene, 1869-70

Impressionism can be considered the rst

distinctly modern movement in painting. Its
inuence spread throughout Europe and
eventually the United States.