French Impressionism Art History Unit Floral Design

French Impressionism Period  Started by a group of Paris-based artists who exhibited their art in the 1860’s.  The name of the movement is derived from Claude Monet’s Impression, Sunrise painting.Impression, Sunrise  Characteristics of Impressionist painting include visible brushstrokes, light colors, open composition, and emphasis on light in its changing qualities  Radicals in their time, this group broke the picture-making rules of painting. They allowed colors to overpower lines. Primary Artists: Monet DegasVan Gogh RenoirSeuratCezanne

Monet  Claude Monet – French painter, initiator, leader, and unswerving advocate of the Impressionist style  Later, his attention was focused on the gardens at Giverny, which was the theme for the series of paintings on Water-lilies Gardens at Giverny, 1900 Waterlilies, 1923

Renoir  Pierre-Auguste Renoir  Renoir painted landscapes as well as people in intimate and candid compositions  He sometimes applied paint with a palette knife rather than a brush.  Characteristic of impressionism style, Renoir painted not the details of a scene, but instead his figures softly fuse with one another and the surroundings Girl with a Watering Can, 1876 Dance at the Moulin de la Galette, 1876

Degas  Edgar Degas  Best known for his ballet dancers and racehorses, because he was able to perfect movement in them  He later became a photographer to capture movement accurately  His paintings were like snapshots, freezing a moment in time  He did not have dissolving lines  His primary influence were Japanese prints (the odd angles) The Dance Class, 1875 At the Races, 1880

Seurat  Georges Seurat  The ultimate example of the artist as scientist  Known for his technique called pointillism, or divisionism, which uses small dots or strokes of contrasting color to create subtle changes in form  Later in his life he created 1 large canvas per year, all dots Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, 1886 Vase of Flowers, 1880

Van Gogh  Vincent Van Gogh, Dutch  His work show the objects, people, and places in his life with bold, usually distorted, draughtsmanship and visible dotted or dashed brushmarks  He only cut off his ear lobe  He didn’t want to be famous  He did have mental illness, but he painted when he was sane  He is VERY popular, but also great  He committed suicide (but it took 2 days) The Potato Eaters,1885 Wheatfield with Crows, 1890

Cezanne  Paul Cezanne  Known as the “Father of Modern Art”  Lived as an outsider, very isolated  He tried to bring back structure and mass to painting  He focused on still lifes, bathers, and landscapes  He made space confusing, with out depth Compote, Pitcher, Fruit 1894 Houses along the Road 1881