What Is Impressionism Art?

Impressionism separated itself from other movements within the mid 1800’s through the use of brighter colors, short brush strokes, and the lack of defined lines.

The art was created outside in the open air to gain the advantage of natural light. Within the art the use of light became paramount in addition to movement in art.

Impressionism was often focused on the natural world yet portraits and cityscapes were also painted. The focus was to paint or recreate what was seen by the artist capturing the subjects essence through the artists perception.

Impressionism Was Rejected By The Elite

Imagine being a young artist and having learned the traditional ways of painting you were ready for something new. An idea strikes you and your friends.. You each begin to create art with this new style.

The moment your art is complete you are then rejected, ridiculed, and even mocked in the local news for the art you created. This is what took place with Claude Monet, Frederic Bazille, Pierre Renoir, and Alfred Sisley.

These names today no one would dispute. To have an original work by any of these men, you would be within a very unique class of people. Yet each of these men were once rejected for their new ideas.

The elite academia within the art community saw the art as rough and violating all the rules within art at the time. The very term Impressionism was coined by a man named Louis Leroy as an insult within his paper column Le Charivari.

Within the 1860’s the art which was desired held the requirement of being lifelike, hiding each brush stroke, and defined lines with great focus on Realism. It was as if they were attempting to paint a photograph.

Add to this the images desired within art at this time were focused on historical figures, mythology, and religious themes. Impressionist Art focused on the ordinary and every day objects of life within their simplicity.

Impressionism Art Saved By The Emperor

Within the art submissions to the Salon of Paris the Impressionists Art were solidly rejected. Many French artists were shocked at the number which were rejected, and the prejudice with which it was done.

Emperor Napoleon III took notice of the Impressionist Art with its rejection. He stated that the public should have a say in whether or not the art was acceptable. This began the Salon des Refuses (Salon of the Refused).

The people came to see this refused art. While many held only the desire to mock the Impressionists, what took place next no one could have imagined. More people came to the Salon des Refuses than those who came to the Salon of approved art.

It was here that the citizens began to take note of the changing times within art. It also displayed how the academic elite were not as smart as they believed. The desires and tastes of the people became what they were for good reason.

Attempts To Silence Impressionist Art

After the debut of Impressionist Art within the Salon de Refuses, the artists requested another debut of the same in successive years. These requests were refused by the academics.

Apparently Impressionism made an impression they did not like.

With access to the public cut off from academia, the artists sought to debut their new work at a friends photography studio. This mans name was Gaspard Tournachon but commonly called Nadar. This art showing took place in April of 1874.

It was from this showing that the scathing review meant to be an insult from Louis Leroy took place. He stated that Monet’s work was not only unfinished, but that wallpaper is more finished than what Monet created.

These artists founded the Société Anonyme Coopérative (The Cooperative and Anonymous Association). They would continue their work through troubled times.

Some of them would fall away. At points infighting caused other to split away. Yet the movement did grow to notability. This could not have been achieved without Paul Durand-Ruel.

Ruel was an art dealer who aided these men by organizing shows in New York, London, and within Paris. Despite his help these artists never became wealthy or widely known as some are today.

It would take Monet near 20 years to find financial stability through his art. Impressionism was his passion, not a vehicle to wealth. Sisley would die having known no financial gain from his efforts. He was in poverty at the point of his death in 1899.

Renior would have some success in the Salon of 1879, yet surrounding years would not be of the same note in value financially. While these men faced difficulty they did succeed in achieving broader success to the recognition of the Impressionist Art Movement.

It would be in later years that their works would come to be known and cherished by many. What was once scoffed and laughed at became points for education within our halls of academia with today’s elite.

This though is the irony of such things. People will mock you when you attempt to find your own path, then covet to be like you only after you have succeeded.

Nevertheless the elite never change in their being while claiming to know what is best for everyone else. Friedrich Hayek I believe was perceptive in his understanding of this point through his life and writing.

Why Did The People Desire Impressionism?

Before the Impressionist Movement much like Baroque Art was focused on the ideal which was often religious in nature. It also would focus on the grander than life figures of history and mythology.

Each of these either praised the ideals men cannot achieve alone, or what the common man could never achieve due to position. The art of the time was for the elite of society not the common layperson.

While certainly the academia of art knew the mechanics of how to create art, they completely missed the content of what people desired. Their focus was to continue pleasing those they served.

The art found within the Impressionist movement a normal person could relate to. The scenes they saw depicted were perhaps places they had visited.

It was seeing their life portrayed on canvas. The portrayal held a harmony through the eyes of how the artist perceived their lives.

This would mark the beginning of a major shift within art that would move forward. Art Nouveau would be born, the Art Deco period would mature, and names like Picasso would come to be known.

The old world of art would slowly begin to give way to new ideas. Impressionism while not solely responsible for this break within the trend did lend a hand in laying the groundwork for it.

Why Did Impressionists Challenge Romanticism And Realism?

One must still beg to answer the question of, why Impressionists challenged the standard of Romanticism and Realism? Despite the differences in subject matter each of the Impressionists were fully capable of creating art within Realism.

Their educational background was at its foundations centered on the idea of detailed Realism within their representational art. What many miss is that this period also saw the birth of a new technology called photography.

Many artists saw photography as a challenge to their work and necessity. For centuries the goal of each artist was to recreate what was seen in order to capture that moment for posterity. Suddenly a machine could do in a mere moment what would take them hours to paint.

Many Impressionists recognized that times where changing and with it there was a desire to explore artistic creativity. There was a liberating freedom to this choice as well as a form of art that could not be easily challenged by technology.

It is for this reason that the goal of the Impressionist artist was to focus on the “essence” of the subject rather than a literal recreation. While their focus was certainly to paint only what was naturally seen, the perspective of the essence was the focus.

Here the Emphasis In Art was directed at what was most important within the scene that was in front of them. They accentuated this essence while other portions of the work received less focus. This no photograph could duplicate.

With this came creative expression within a new form of Realism by new methods that had not before been used consistently across a collection of works.

Techniques Used Within Impressionist Art

Pure Impressionism rejects the ideas of using the color black in order to make grays or dark tones. Rather their method would consist of using the primary color desired within its own gray scale.

This concept of mixing colors from its primary color was a consistent technique used by all. This was done in conjunction of painting wet paint onto the canvas, while the existing paint on the canvas was still wet.

The purpose to this method was to create softer edges as the colors naturally blended to the canvas. A result of this is a unique gradation effect within the art that can be similar to hatching.

At no time did they wait for a portion of their work to dry before continuing to paint.

Paint would also be applied to light colored foreground. Compare this to their contemporaries who would use dark foregrounds, this idea was new to their time.

Different colors would be applied to the canvas side by side without concern for intentional mixing. Rather what did mix was left to a natural design.

This had two effects. First is there would be little definition in terms of the line. Secondly each color would remain vibrant in contrast to surrounding colors.

This “broken line”, or lack of line, was achieved due to short and abrupt brush strokes. The idea was to capture the essence of the subject rather than vivid details.

Impressionist techniques sought to always capture light, its reflection, and shadows. It was almost an obsession to depict the environment accurately with its effects and impact upon the landscape or subject.

Where Does Impressionist Art Fit Within History?

Nearly all art can be in some way tied back to the foundations of Classical Art. While not all will remain true to the pure ideals of Classicism, what they become is an offshoot from it.

Impressionist Art is one of those that this can be true for. Nevertheless by the turn into the 20^th century the nature of what Impressionism was had changed or began to disappear.

Near 1920 the fringe of the art world was focused on Surrealism and Figurative Art. After a World War not only did society itself change, but so did all that people sought to surround themselves with.

Despite these shifts through history we constantly see art movements rise in controversy, gain recognition, then become a standard which slowly fades away. Some are more notable than others.

Impressionism would seem to have a much shorter lifespan than others. Its entire existence from rise to its decline took place within the broader Victorian Era where Romanticism and Realism was the dominant force.

One could technically classify its period to exist between 1867 to 1886. Typically a movement of this nature would barely make a footnote within history much less produce the desire for the art.

Nevertheless names like Monet stand out in ways that instantly create recognition and value. So what did Impressionism give us that still makes it so valuable and recognized for today?

The Impressionist movement took place in turbulent times for Europe. Yet it managed to span two continents and no less than three major cities with consistency.

The art took rise at a period where a broader counter culture movement, as can be seen through Art Nouveau, began to deeply root. This counter movement was focused less on art and more on society as a whole.

The idea of the Monarchy was weakening. The common layperson was rising. Industrialization was the focus and people had begun to break from older traditions.

While Impressionism may have given little to this overall movement, it was in the right place at the right time within the thinking of the people. If you had lived within this time it may have been seen as a passing fad.

Nevertheless what it stood for in breaking the traditional paths would certainly be noticed and appreciated by many. This would explain its success within the Salon of the Rejected.

While overall the movement as a whole may not have created a lasting platform for generations to come, what it stood for within its time did survive. It is this spirit which it captured that I believe has led to the degree of appreciation that was given to its artists and their art.