Impressionism
In the Beginning..
Impressionism is one of the earliest forms of modern art during the early 1860s. But here, originating from France, the founders of this movement included many artists but the founding leader of this movement many people agree with was Claude Monet 1. Claude Monet would go down as one of the most influential artists, still inspiring others today.
Paris 1860 by Edouard Willmann
Impressionism
The Impressionist movement primarily uses oil paints, a usually butter consistency-stiff paint- taking a long time to dry. Some of the characteristics within the Impressionist movement is a “sketchy” look, during that time when the movement was starting, it was criticized that the painting didn’t look finished because of this sketch look to the paint 2. Because of this the result is a focus on the light, movement and the passing moment in the environment, making timely everyday scenes of Paris and around the world. It was common for impressionists to paint outdoors during this time rather than paint within a studio, fully capturing the moment and seeing the light change and move with the environment.
Claude Monet painting in his studio (1920) (picture credit: Bridgeman images)
Impression, Sunrise (1872) Image from google images
Impression, Sunrise (1872)
Monet’s many works can be recognized by almost anyone, but his piece that started Impressionism, Impression, Sunrise 1872, painted in oil shows a foggy morning sunrise at a dock location, an orange-red sun glimmering over the soft blue-gray waters. Monet, and other impressionist like him, uses color rather then white, gray and black to paint these shadows and lights 3. Even though this painting was criticized a lot at the beginning, it is now a beloved painting in the art world, you can find this painting at Marmottan Museum of Monet (or the Monet Museum for short).
Conclusion
Though Impressionism has many styles in other countries around the world, that doesn't change the fact of the popularity and importance of what impressionism did for the world. Impressionism, like its style, changes with its world around it, making it adaptable not just to new cultures but to new times as well.
image from Google Images
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Samu,Margaret. Impressionism: Art and Modernity. The Met, October 2004. https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/imml/hd_imml.htm.
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Costache, Irina D. Historical Narratives of Global Modern Art:Impressionism and Globalization. Routledge, 2023.
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Samu, “Impressionism: Art and Modernity”.