1. Impressionism, Post-Impressionism and Realism

2. Characteristics of Impressionism
Born in France in 1860s, purest form only lasted until 1886, “La Belle Epoque”
Rejected Renaissance perspective, balanced composition, idealized figures and chiaroscuro
Impressionism represented immediate visual sensations through color and light
Main goal to represent an “impression,” or initial sensory perceptions recorded by an artist in a brief glimpse
Used short, choppy brushstrokes
Critics said impressionists “fired paint at the canvas with a pistol”

3. Claude Monet ( )
Painted landscapes, water lillies, haystacks, etc.
Movement takes it name from one of his paintings, Impression: Sunrise
Generally outdoor scenes

4. Impression: Sunrise, 1872

5. Eduoard Manet (1832-83) Often called the “Father of Modern Art”
Never exhibited with other Impressionists
Painted contemporary scenes with a hard edge

6. Bar at the Folies – Bergere, 1882

7. Pierre Renoir ( )
Painted female nudes, cafes

8. La Moulin de la Galette, 1876 Musee D’Orsay

9. Edgar Degas (1834-1917) Known primarily for paintings of ballerinas
Close friend with Mary Cassatt

10. The Rehearsal, 1874

11. Mary Cassatt ( )
American artist who moved to France and became friends with many Impressionists, including Degas
Common theme of work was mother and children

12. Mother and Child, 1888

13. Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) Greatest Impressionist sculptor
Reproduced in bronze something of the Impressionist love of shifting forms of light and shadow, irregularity of surface
The first “modern” sculptor

14. The Thinker, 1876

15. Post-Impressionism Not a very descriptive term
Applies to a variety of artists and styles that rejected the ideas of Impressionism
Mainly a French phenomenon
Generally wanted their paintings to be something more substantial than a passing moment

16. Georges Seurat (1859-1891) Scientific precision of his paintings
Pointillism – used small dots of grand color, based on geometry
Always wore top hat and dark suit that was meticulously pressed

17. A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, 1884-6

18. Henri de Toulouse-Latrec (1864-1901)
Very similar to Degas in style
Focused on contemporary life – theatres, dance halls and circuses in and around Paris
Portrayed movement
Due to childhood accident, was 5’ tall with child’s legs but adult torso and disproportionate head

19. At The Moulin Rouge, 1892

20. Moulin Rouge - La Goulue 1891

21. Paul Cezanne (1839-1906) Born in Aix-en-Provence
Dismissed as a madman due to unorthodox personal mannerisms and artistic style
Known for
still lives

22. Apples, Peaches, Pears and Grapes, 1879-80

23. Large Bathers, 1906

24. The Card Players, 1894-5, Musee D’Orsay

25. Paul Gauguin ( )
Spent a decade as a prosperous Parisian stockbroker who took up painting as a hobby in 1873
By 1883 had ditched his family for art and focused on the “savage instinct”
Spent last ten years of his life living in Tahiti with his 13 year old Tahitian mistress

26. La Orana Maria, 1892

27. Vincent van Gogh ( )
Tragedy of his life found expression in his work – very autobiographical
Called his subject matter “The terrible passions of humanity”

29. Starry Night, 1889

30. Portrait of Dr. Gachet, 1890

31. Sunflowers, 1888, National Gallery, London

32. Realism
Goal to record activities of common people in a realistic fashion
Gustave Courbet ( )
Often life size work so the viewer felt like there were a part of the scene
Manet’s earlier work is also considered realist

33. Courbet, The Stone Breakers 1849

34. Courbet, Burial at Ornans, 1850, Musee D’Orsay

35. Manet, Luncheon on the Grass, 1862-3, Musee D’Orsay