Impressionism 1865-1880

California State Standards Proficient 1.1 Identify and use the principles of design to discuss, analyze, and write about visual aspects in the environment and in works of art, including their own. 1.3 Research and analyze the work of an artist and write about the artist's distinctive style and its contribution to the meaning of the work. 1.5 Analyze the material used by a given artist and describe how its use influences the meaning of the work. Advanced 1.6 Describe the use of the elements of art to express mood in one or more of their works of art. 1.8 Analyze the works of a well-known artist as to the art media selected and the effect of that selection on the artist's style. 2.1 Create original works of art of increasing complexity and skill in a variety of media that reflect their feelings and points of view. 2.2 Plan and create works of art that reflect complex ideas, such as distortion, color theory, arbitrary color, scale, expressive content, and real versus virtual.

Objectives Students will describe the elements of art and principles of design in Impressionist art. Students will create a piece of artwork in the style of Impressionism or Post- Impressionism. Students will write a report on an Impressionist, Post-Impressionist or Expressionist artist that describes the artist’s style and how it contributes to the meaning of the artwork.

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-centruy art movement of an association of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence in the 1870s and 1880s. Impressionists were interested in painting the effects of light and atmosphere. They first showed their artwork in 1874, where it was met with much distaste. One journalist hated the painting “Impression, Sunrise, by Claude Monet so much that he mockingly called the artists “impressionists” after it. Monet, Claude Impression, soleil levant Impression, Sunrise 1872 Oil on canvas 48 x 63 cm (19 x 24 3/8") Musee Marmottan, Paris

Influences on Impressionism Industrial Revolution – New inventions and innovations changed the way people lived and brought economic prosperity to many countries including France Railroad – made it possible for artists to leave their home and search for locations across the country. City bound artists now had a new variety of subjects. Photography – Artists could now capture their subjects at the state they found them and take them home to their studio. Artists now had a huge new variety of subject matter and a way to capture their subject matter and bring it back to the studio. Renoir, Pierre-Auguste Rocky Crags at l'Estaque (Rochers a l'Estaque) 1882 Oil on canvas 66 x 80.5 cm (26 x 31 3/4 in.)

Impressionist Style Impressionists painted with visible brush strokes. Their compositions were open, which means they went off the page. Their subject matter was that of ordinary life and most often outdoors. Movement was a crucial element of their artwork. Degas, Edgar Race Horses 1885-1888 Pastel on panel 11 7/8 x 16 in. The Annenberg Collection

Impressionists and Light The emphasis was on light and its changing qualities. Impressionists would often accentuate the effects of the passage of time by painting the change in light on their subject matter. To Impressionists, realism was the recording of the most subtle sensations of reflected light. By capturing a specific kind of light, they conveyed the feeling of a specific and fleeting moment of time. Monet, Claude La cathedrale de Rouen, le portail, temps gris (Rouen Cathedral, the West Portal, Dull Weather) dated 1894, painted 1892 Oil on canvas 39 3/8 x 25 5/8 in. (100 x 65 cm) Musee d'Orsay, Paris Monet, Claude La cathedrale de Rouen, le portail et la tour Saint-Romain, plein soleil, harmonie bleue et or (Rouen Cathedral, the West Portal and Saint-Romain Tower, Full Sunlight, Harmony in Blue and Gold) dated 1894, painted 1893 Oil on canvas 42 1/8 x 28 3/4 in. (107 x 73 cm) Musee d'Orsay, Paris

The Main Artists of Impressionism Claude Monet (1840-1926) Claude Monet was the most important of the Impressionist Painters. He was the master of light and color and would often paint a series of paintings of the same subject matter at different times of the day. He tried to capture the visual effects of sparkling sunlight in the open air. He discovered the technical secret of placing pure color side-by-side to achieve brilliance and luminosity.

Monet, Claude Bordighera, Italy 1884 Oil on canvas 23 5/8 x 28 3/4 in Monet, Claude Bordighera, Italy 1884 Oil on canvas 23 5/8 x 28 3/4 in. (60 x 73 cm) Private collection

Monet, Claude The Artist's Garden at Vetheuil 1881 Oil on canvas 100 x 80 cm (39 3/8 x 31 1/2 in.) Private collection

Monet, Claude Rock Arch West of Etretat (The Manneport) 1883 Oil on canvas 65.4 x 81.3 cm (25 3/4 x 32 in.) Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Monet is well known for his paintings of water lilies. Monet, Claude Water Lilies 1906 Oil on canvas 87.6 x 92.7 cm (34 1/2 x 36 1/2 in.) The Art Institute of Chicago

Monet, Claude Water Lilies (The Clouds) 1903 Oil on canvas 74. 6 x 105 Monet, Claude Water Lilies (The Clouds) 1903 Oil on canvas 74.6 x 105.3 cm (29 3/8 x 41 7/16 in.) Private collection

Monet, Claude Wheatstacks (End of Summer), 1890-91 Oil on canvas, 60 x 100 cm (23 5/8 x 39 3/8 in.) The Art Institute of Chicago

The Main Artists of Impressionism Edgar Degas (1834-1917) Regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism. He rejected the term, and preferred to be called a realist. He is especially identified with the subject matter of dance, and over half his works depict dancers. His works show his mastery in the depiction of movement. His portraits are notable for their complexity and depiction of human isolation.

Degas, Edgar Portrait, Evening (Madame Camus) 1869-70 Oil on canvas 28 5/8 x 36 1/4 in (72.7 x 92.1 cm) National Gallery of Art, Washington

Degas, Edgar The Rehearsal c. 1873-78 Oil on canvas 18 1/2 x 24 3/8 in Degas, Edgar The Rehearsal c. 1873-78 Oil on canvas 18 1/2 x 24 3/8 in. (41 x 61.7 cm) Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

Degas, Edgar Dance School c Degas, Edgar Dance School c. 1874 Oil and tempera on canvas 17 x 22 1/2 in. (43 x 57 cm) The Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, Vermont

Degas, Edgar The Dance Examination c Degas, Edgar The Dance Examination c. 1880 Pastel and charcoal on paper 24 15/16 x 18 15/16 in. (63.4 x 48.2 cm) Denver Art Museum

Degas, Edgar Portrait de M Degas, Edgar Portrait de M. Duranty 1879 Tempera and pastel on canvas 39 3/8 x 39 3/8 in (100.6 x 100.6 cm) Glasgow Art Gallery and Museum

The Main Artists of Impressionism Pierre Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) Renoir celebrated beauty and feminine sensuality. Renoir's paintings show vibrant light and saturated color. His subject matter was mostly people in intimate and candid compositions. Renoir used freely brushed touches of color to suggest the details of his scene. This made his figures softly fuse with one another and their surroundings.

Renoir, Pierre-Auguste La loge The Theater Box 1874 Oil on canvas 80 x 63.5 cm (31 1/2 x 25") Courtauld Institute Galleries, London

Renoir, Pierre-Auguste Nini in the Garden 1875-1876 Oil on canvas 24 3/8 x 20 in. The Annenberg Collection

Renoir, Pierre-Auguste Gypsy Girl 1879 Oil on canvas 73 x 54 cm Private collection, Canada

Renoir, Pierre-Auguste The Luncheon of the Boating Party 1881 Oil on canvas 129.5 x 172.7 cm (51 x 68 in.) The Phillips Collection, Washington

The Main Artists of Impressionism Mary Cassatt (1845-1926) Mary Cassatt was an American Impressionist who lived in Paris. She specialized in portraits of women and intimate portraits of mother and child. Cassatt’s style later evolved and she moved away from Impressionism. After 1886, Cassatt no longer identified herself with any art movement and experimented with a variety of techniques.

Cassatt, Mary Mother and Child 1889 Oil on canvas 90 x 64 Cassatt, Mary Mother and Child 1889 Oil on canvas 90 x 64.5 cm Wichita Art Museum, Kansas

Cassatt, Mary Young Girl at a Window c. 1883 Oil on canvas 100. 3 x 64 Cassatt, Mary Young Girl at a Window c. 1883 Oil on canvas 100.3 x 64.7 cm Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington

Cassatt, Mary Lydia Seated at an Embroidery Frame 1880/81 Oil on canvas 65.5 x 92 cm Flint Institute of Arts, Michigan

Cassatt, Mary Good Night Hug

Cassatt, Mary Good Night Hug

Cassatt, Mary Young Mother Sewing, 1900

The Main Impressionist Artists Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) Pissarro painted rural and urban French life, particularly landscapes. His mature work displayed an empathy for peasants and laborers, and sometimes showed his radical political leanings. Pissarro, Camille Autumn, Path through the Woods 1876 Oil on canvas 31 7/8 x 25 5/8 in (81 x 65 cm) Private collection

Pissarro, Camille Garden of Les Mathurins at Pontoise 1876 Oil on canvas 44 3/8 x 65 1/3 in (112.7 x 165.4 cm) The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City

Pissarro, Camille La Mere Larcheveque 1880 Oil on canvas 28 3/4 x 23 1/4 in (73 x 59.1 cm) Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Pissarro, Camille Boulevard Montmartre: Afternoon, Sunshine Le Boulevard Montmartre, apres-midi, soleil 1897 Oil on canvas 74 x 92.8 cm The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg

Pissarro, Camille Boulevard Montmartre: Night Le Boulevard Montmartre, effet de nuit 1897 Oil on canvas 53.5 x 65 cm National Gallery, London

Pissarro, Camille Boulevard Montmartre: Rainy Weather, Afternoon Le Boulevard Montmartre, temps de pluie, apres-midi 1897 Oil on canvas 52.5 x 66 cm Private collection

Other Impressionists Frederic Bazille (1841-70) Eugene Boudin (1824-98) Frederic Bazille (1841-70) Gustave Caillebotte (1848-94) Armand Guillamin (1841-1927) Johan Barthold Jonkind (1819-91) Alfred Sisley (1839-99)

Your Turn! Look at this picture. How can you tell it is from the Impressionist period? (style, subject matter, etc.) Describe the elements of art and principles of design in this picture. Describe the composition. What do you think of this piece? What do you like or not like about it? Monet, Claude The Stroll, Camille Monet and Her Son Jean (Woman with a Parasol) 1875 Oil on canvas 100 x 81 cm (39 3/8 x 31 7/8 in.) National Gallery of Art, Washington