Impressionism and Cezanne (Sean)

Impressionism

Impressionism is a style of loose imagery and bright colors that attempts to convey the effects of light upon the subject. Short, quick brushstrokes adorn the canvas of an Impressionist painting and this brings about a sense of movement and action that quickly affirms the subjects that Impressionists most often depicted: outdoor scenes and daily activities. Within their composition, Impressionists attempted to recreate light’s effect upon the world by showing direct light upon the subject, the many colors that reflect on to the subject from adjacent objects, and the shadow that it creates. Often, they painted the same subject at different times of the day so as to see the affects of differing amounts of light and shadow. Rarely was black or grey used within a painting. Impressionists would apply contrasting colors atop each other or closely juxtapose to create a more intense hue from those used. These painters were interested in how color, hue and texture could be used to recreate a natural setting most effectively.

Manet- Dejeuner sur l’herbe

Impressionism began later in the nineteenth century at le Salon de Refuses if France with the showing of Manet’s “Dejeuner sur l’herbe.” This movement in art history was begun more as a reproach and a reaction to the current tradition of academic painting and romanticism. The term ‘impressionism’ was created by an unkind critic, Louis Leroy, in connection to a painting by Monet, entitled ‘Impression: Sunrise.’ The term was taken in by other, more kindly critics to give voice to, what they called, the impression that one has of a visual experience that is rapid and transitory, associated with only a single moment in time. During the later 1860’s, painters like Monet, Renior, Sisley, and Pissaro, those most readily associated with Impressionism (even though Manet is considered to be the father of the Impressionist movement, he did not show any pieces at any of the 9 group showings), chose to paint outside. They did this so they could better capture the quickly altering affects of light and atmosphere, and better record their own, individual sensations of the subject that stood before them. Their color choice and quick brushstrokes allowed them to be responsive the character and texture of the natural object. Impression saw it’s culmination in 1884-1885 when, due to rivalries and contrasting views, it faded into Post- and Neo- Impressionism.

Monet- Impression: Sunrise

Renior- Lace Hat

Sisley- Autumn Banks of the Seine Near Bougival

Pissaro- The Boulevard Montmartre at Night

Cezanne

Paul Cezanne was born in 1839 and died in 1906. Cezanne was a painter of remarkable quality and is most notable for his Post-Impressionist paintings. He was, however, also an Impressionist. He pushed beyond the sensibilities of his contemporaries by furthering his technique of how he put the paint upon his canvas. He had an analytical approach to conveying nature and also had a unique way of building form with color. In so doing, he created something, that he says, "is more solid and durable, like the art of the museums." Cezanne's work is divided into three phases. The first, was very much impressionist. Through his association with Pissaro, he gathered the techniques the impressionists used and loosened his brushstrokes. This is most evident in the painting "House of the Hanged Man" (shown below).

The next phase that Cezanne entered into in the later 1870's is known as the Constructive phase. In it, Cezanne used groupings of parallel and hatched brushstrokes to build up a sense of mass between them. He continued with this phase into the early 1890's. The painting below, "Card Players," is a prime example of this phase.

The last of Cezanne's three phases, his late phase, is one that many people most readily identify as his style. It is the most prominently Post-Impressionist. His subject matter dealt with still lives, bathers, and multiple views of a nearby landmark, Mont Sainte-Victoire. These later landscapes have a much more unfinished and light feeling to them, due in large part to Cezanne's works in watercolor.

Le Mont Sainte-Victoire

Citations

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impressionism