Impressionism Flashcards
1
Q
Impressionists and Independent Art exhibitions
A
- 1863 - Napoleon III established the salon des refuses (salon of the rejected) to exhibit works rejected by the official salon
- 1867 - Manet held a private exhibition of his own paintings
- 1873 - the Anonymous society of painters, sculptors and engravers was founded by Monet, Renoir, Pissarro and Sisley, among others
- 1874 - Monet’s impression: sunrise was badly criticized and the group was ironically named the “impressionists”
- from 1874 - 1886, the group held 8 exhibitions
2
Q
Impressionism characteristics
A
- attitude - anti academic standard and values
- influenced by realism
— liberation of art from traditional themes, painting real people, real life
— painting en plein air, finished works outdoor, under sunlight
— pursuit of optical realism - captured the fleeting moment of the rapidly changing world, conveying the elusiveness and impermanence of images and conditions - themes
— contemporary lifestyles - modern parisian life and leisure activities (horse-racing, water sport, parties, performances etc)
— images of the “floating world” - influence of japanese art
— images of Bohemian artists and their friends
— landscape and cityscapes - styles
— developed a scientific attitude towards the structure of colour and light - systematic use of complementary colours, use of coloured shadows (form eugene Delacroix) (sepia eliminated)
— juxtaposing colours bluntly instead of mixing them together to achieve smooth transitions
— broken brushstrokes, blurry images, sketch-like finish - influenced by japanese woodcut prints
— unusual format, angle of composition, themes, homogeneous colour (flatness, abstraction) - influenced by photography
— snapshot-like compositions, arbitrary poses and figures
3
Q
Edouard Manet
A
- born in paris in a rich family
- studied with thomas couture, a neoclassicist
- attracted by Delacroix’s theory of colour and Corot’s idea of realism
- attracted by spanish and dutch baroque painting
- 1865 - travelled to spain, deeply impressed by the works of francisco de goya
- influenced and was influenced by the core members of the impressionists, but never exhibited with them
- is he a realist or impressionist?
4
Q
Edouard Manet - Le Dejeuner sur l’herbe (Luncheon on the grass)
A
- persons in the foreground: Manet’s brother Eugene, sculptor Ferdinand Leenhof, and model Victorine Meurend
— ManetL the chief actor in the painting is light - objects are treated as flat planes reacting to light perceived by the eyes - exhibited in Salon des Refuses, its subject matter and style shocked the world
- critique: ordinary men and promiscuous women in a parisian park
- inspirations
— Marcantonio Raimondi - Judgement of Paris
—— Manet adopted the classicial triangular composition and posture of figures of this painting
— Giorgione or titan - Country Concert
—— renaissance venetian painting
5
Q
Edouard Manet - Olympia
A
- scandalous - a prostitute with a confrontational gaze in a shameless, provocative pose
- critique - rough brushstrokes, abrupt shifts in tonality, composition in pure colours, no intermediate tones to fuse the different colour together
- inspired by Titan - Venus of Urbino
6
Q
Alexandre Cabanel - the birth of venus
A
- had tremendous success in the Salon of 1863
- traditional and academic - diffused light, realistic rendering, smooth finish
- appeals to the taste of the high society - eroticism in disguise of mythological subject
7
Q
Edouard Manet - execution of emperor maximilian
A
- critique on Napoleon III’s politics in Mexico
- In a trip to spain in 1865, Manet discovered the works of Francisco de goya and was very impressed by him, so he created a few works modelling on those of goya (executions of the third of may)
- Note: flatness of the uniformed and the sketchy finish of the background
8
Q
Edouard Manet - Monet working in his boat in Argenteuil
A
- influenced by Monet and his friends, painted with him en plein air (in open air)
- Manet came from a rich family and was never a close friend of those “Bohemian artists” Nevertheless he was introduced to Monet through Berthe Morisot and became a friend of Monet
9
Q
Claude Oscar Monet
A
- born in a poor family in Paris
- 1845- moved to a Le Havre( Normandy) worked as a caricaturist
- 1850s and 1860s - influenced by Pre-impressionistis
— Eugene Boudin, a local landscape painter
— Johann Barthold Jongkind, a dutch landscape painter
— to catch the ever-changing colour and light and to represent the vivid and vital energy of objects - early 1860s, moved to Bougival and became neighbour of Marc Gabriel Gleyre (neo-classicist)
- 1870-71 - stayed in London because of Franco-Prussian war
- 1871-78, moved to Argenteuil, sometimes lived in his boat studio
- 1883, settled in Giverny
- renowned as a landscape painter
10
Q
Claude Monet - Women in the Garden
A
- painted totally outdoor to capture the bright sunlight on the dresses, the ground and the trees, and other objects
- impressionists: painters of light
11
Q
Claude Monet - La Grenouillere (frog Pond)
A
- western suburb of paris, a meeting place of sportsmen and strollers along river seine in Bougival
- developed the characteristic coarse, broken brushstrokes of impressionism: let human eye do the colour-mixing
- technique: thick, flat colour patches (e.g. white, blue, ochre, brown) are juxtaposed to a capture the movement of the water surface
- theme: sunlight, water movement
- purpose: capture the fleeting and floating light effect on objects
- impressionists: painters of water surface
12
Q
Auguste Renoir - La Grenouillere
A
- was a neighbour of Monet in Bougival, painted often together
- Renoir’s emphasis is more on human figures and activities: an enclosed composition with the focus on the human group in the center
13
Q
Claude Monet - The thames below westminster
A
- developed atmospheric landscape under the influence of constable, turner and whistler during his stay in london from 1870-71
- monet enriched his themes to paint atmospheric elements which affect the perception of the human eye
- impressionists: painters of the air
14
Q
James McNeill - Nocturne in Blue and Gold
A
- American painter active in Paris and London
- compared painting to music
- paintings: harmonious arrangement of shapes and colours
- achieving atmospheric effects through abstraction of form and colour
- composition influenced by japanese woodcut prints
15
Q
Claude Monet - Impression: sunrise
A
- a harbour in Le Havre seen through the morning mists
- criticized as “worse than a wall-paper design in the embryonic stage”
- inspired by Turner’s indistinct images of water landscapes - use of muddy colour in the background; unlike Turner’s violent romantic landscapes, Monet’s are calm and tranquil
16
Q
Claude Monet - Gare Saint-Lazare (The Auteuil line)
A
- a study of the atmospheric effect of vapour produced by the steam under the glass roof of the railway station
17
Q
Claude Monet - Rouen Cathedral, the Portal and St. Romain tower in bad weather (harmony in grey)
A
- a more challenging subject than the earlier series - fretting of the sculpted surface produces more profound effects of shadow, esp in recesses of the pointed-arched portal
- heavy, thick paint was applied wet-on-wet to build up the coarse texture of the surface
18
Q
Claude Monet - Rouen Cathedral, the Portal and St. Romain tower in bad weather (harmony in blue and gold)
A
- texture thus created imitates and exaggerates the light changes on the surface
- within 3 years, monet produced around 30 views of the same facade during different times of a day and different seasons of a year
18
Q
Claude Monet - Rouen Cathedral, the Portal and St. Romain tower in bad weather (harmony in blue and gold)
A
- texture thus created imitates and exaggerates the light changes on the surface
- within 3 years, monet produced around 30 views of the same facade during different times of a day and different seasons of a year
19
Q
Claude Monet - Japanese footbridge
A
- from 1899 to 1926, worked almost exclusively on the pond and water lilies; he produced some 250 pieces on this theme
- settled in Giverny in 1883
- produced series of paintings with simplified subjects for exclusive, detailed study of light effect
- japanese bridge is a recurrent motif in the last phase of Monet’s art
5.refer to Ukiyo-e woodcut prints by Utagawa Hiroshige
— man on horseback crossing a bridge
— japonisme - influence of japanese art on late 19th century western art
20
Q
Claude Monet - Les Nympheas (Water Lilies: Morning)
A
- last phase of his water lilies series - extremely large in scale, covering walls of a whole exhibition hall, absence of any reference of physical reality, complete abstraction of colour
21
Q
Pierre Auguste Renoir
A
- born in Limoges
- moved to paris
- worked as a porcelain painter and then a textile painter
- entered Marc Gabriel Gleyre’s studio
- used thick paint, bright colour and painted in open air with other impressionists
- imitated Delacroix’s themes of oriental women
- travelled to africa and italy
- renowned as a painter of beautiful women and lovely children, joyful situations, dancing parties - pay homage to Rococo painters
22
Q
Auguste Renoir - The Loge
A
- theme of contemporary Parisian life
- well-dressed couple in an opera box - Nini Lopez and the painter’s brother served as models
3.signature feathery brushstrokes - created a texture with pillowy softness that invites the spectator - refer to Garden of love by Peter Paul Rubens
— double portrait of Rubens and his young wife helena fourment; loose and thick brushstrokes give a not very concrete image - anticipates impressionism
23
Q
Auguste Renoir - Ball at the Moulin de la Galette
A
- scene of a sunday dance of the working class in an outdoor dancing hall in Montmartre
- captured the pulse of contemporary city life
- gas lamps, sunlight penetrates through the foliage of the trees
24
Q
Auguste Renoir - two sisters (On the terrace)
A
- Renoir was extremely successful in portraiture
- foreground - intensive saturated colours
- background - duller colours to represent objects seen in humid air
- pure colours used by Renoir - lead white, vermilion, emerald, green, cobalt blue and Naples yellow, crimson, ultramarine (typical colour of Renoir)
- white is added wet-on-wet on top of them
25
Q
Auguste Renoir - Place Clichy
A
- many impressionists are interested in photography
- composition imitates the snapshot of a busy corner of Paris
- spontaneity of a woman appearing on the right
- background is out of focus as in a photo
26
Q
Auguste Renoir - Bathers
A
- a travel to italy in early 1880s caused Renoir to doubt his technique and belief; he began to think about the notion of eternity in classical art
- renoir doubted the impressionistic method since 1883 and changed subsequently towards classical style
- painted totally in studio - reduction of effects of shadows on the bodies
- classical pyramidal composition
27
Q
Auguete Renoir - Study Sketch for the bathers, study torso of a woman in the sunlight
A
- study sketch for the bathers
— returned to academic method and style: did preparatory sketches for the bathers - artificial posture; fine details; precise form with sharp contours, smooth and flat painted surface - study torso of a woman in the sunlight
— impressionist style
28
Q
Edgar Degas
A
- born in a rich banker family
- learnt from the neoclassicist, Jean-August-Dominique Ingres, then entered French Academy, wanted to be a history painter
- met Manet and became good friends because of similar background and taste, attracted by Japanese Ukiyo-e paintings
- although participated in all 8 impressionists’ exhibitions, he never mingled with the impressionists, nor created finished works outdoor
- experimented with different media, sometimes mixed - oil, pastels or chalk on paper, sculpture, photography
- renowned for genre themes of modern life - race track scenes, cafes, ballerinas, working women, women at their toilet
29
Q
edgar degas - racehorses in front of the grandstand
A
- a favourite leisure activity of Parisian high society
- influence of japanese woodcut prints - forms defined by black contours, flat colour patches, asymmetrical composition
- influence of photography - analysis of movement of horses
30
Q
Eadweard Muybridge - the horse in motion
A
- photography was used to generate sequences of stop-motion images which were used to analyse the motion of a horse and to prove whether a galloping horse lifts all four hooves off the ground
31
Q
Edgar Degas - dance class
A
- degas went backstage to observe rehearsals, captured the casual mood of a group of mice listening to jules perrot, a star choreographer
- limited range of colour mixed with small patches of primary colours and intense greens; thin, translucent white for the tutus
- girl scratching her back and dog looking curiously
32
Q
edgar degas - dancer with a bouquet saluting on the stage
A
- research on the effect of different angles of stage lighting on colour
- yellow-orange tones for the bright light cast from above and below
- violet as shadows; green to neutralize colours
— colours that appear opposite each other on the colour wheel
— when juxtaposed, they compete to stand out and become vibrant on a painting
33
Q
edgar degas - seated dancer
A
- degas mixed chalk and pastels with oils and other paints
- softness of the flesh and the airy quality of the tutu - reminiscent of the texture of Renoir’s beautiful women
- he submitted pastels as finished works to exhibitions
34
Q
Edgar Degas - ironers
A
- depicts the poor at work
- catches their fleeting, everyday movements
- the representation is neither heroic nor caricatured (compare Honore Daumier)
35
Q
Edgar Degas - in a cafe, or absinthe
A
- cafe - meeting place for bohemian intellectuals
- ellen andre and marcellin desboutin posed for the painting
- absence of communication, alienation of modern man
36
Q
Japonisme
A
- denotes the fascination of the french with japanese art and culture
- japan opened up to the west
- japan participated in the exposition universelle (world exposition) in paris
- the exoticism and alternative standard of beauty appealed to fashionable parisian society
- themes of Ukiyo-e prints - contemporary daily life, theatre performances, lower-class people, famous courtesans, landscapes, legends and myths, erotic and provocative scenes
- ukiyo-e scenes of the “floating world”, the concept reinforces the impressionist idea of capturing the fleeting moment of the world
37
Q
Claude Monet - La Japaonaise ( Camille Monet in Japanese Costume)
A
- japonisme is more than just a display of japanese props in a composition
38
Q
Edgar Degas - Mary cassatt in Louvre
A
- japanese influence: unusually long format, high angle of presentation and truncated figures
- refer to Stranger at the gate by Isoda Koryusai
39
Q
edgar Degas - women on the terrace of a cafe in the evening
A
- theme - prostitutes waiting for customers
- setting: an interior opening to the outside
- architectural elements cuts the figure into halves
— refer to Women viewing a snowy garden from a parlor by Torii Kiyonaga
— geishas enjoying a leisure moment in a setting which opens to the exterior
— figure cut into halves by an architectural element
40
Q
edgar degas - the tub
A
- high angle of presenting the figure and objects
- table on the right - no foreshortening, treated as 2-dimensional surface
- refer to Aphrodite or @Crouching Venus@
— degas combined the tradition of two diverse cultures: european classical and japanese - refer to Woman after a bath, from “comparison of alluring beauties”
— degas collected Japanese prints, he owned this print, which inspired him to create various works of a similar theme - women at their toilet
41
Q
camille Pissarro
A
—Landscapes and cityscapes in impressionism
— settled in paris in 1855
— learned landscape painting with Gustave Courbet and Camille Corot
42
Q
Alfred Sisley
A
—Landscapes and cityscapes in impressionism
— a british born in paris
— became student of Marc Gabriel Gleyre, established friendship with Monet and Renoir
—influenced by Constable and Turner, but attracted to the bright colour and sunny landscape of Corot
43
Q
Camille Pissaro - self-portrait
A
- figure - lifted through alternative use of 2 basic colours, cream and brown; careful study of the reflection of light of different parts of thesurfaces
44
Q
Camille Pissarro - Entrance to the village of Voisins
A
- favourite motives: village road flanked by trees running into the depth
- light colour and shadows - bright sunshine
45
Q
Camille Pissarro - red roofs,corner of a village
A
- put emphasis on the geometric structure of landscapes - exerted influence on Paul Cezanne
- used thick impasto of light tones to catch light
46
Q
Alfred sisley - boat in the flood at port marly
A
- impressionistic water landscape combined with a sky typical of 17th century dutch painting
- the food of seine in 1876 gave the painter a good chance to study the reflection of house, trees, and people on water surface
47
Q
Gustave Caillebotte - Paris Street; rainy day
A
- Haussmannian apartments
- Haussmann renovation
- gas streetlights - installed in paris since 1828
- alienation of city dwellers
48
Q
Camille Pissarro - La place du theatre francais
A
- a crowded Paris square seen from several stories about street level
- Pissarro used photography to capture scenes he wanted to paint
- similarities with photography
— spatial flatness because of the high viewpoint
— arbitrary cutting-off of figures at the edges
49
Q
women painters
A
- still not acceptable socially for women to paint outdoor
- typical works - intimate, indoors scenes, family and leisure activities
- outdoor scenes - studio compositions with models or created in semi-open private premises
50
Q
Berthe Morisot
A
- first woman impressionist, student of Camille Corot, sister-in-law of Edouard Manet
- made close friendship and exhibited with the impressionists
51
Q
Berthe Morisot - cradle
A
- theme: family life of well-to-do women and children
- translucent paint, feathery brushstrokes - softness and warmth
- distinct zones of black and white tones - influence from manet’s olympia
52
Q
Berthe Morisot - in a villa at the seaside
A
- vacation of the painter with her upper class family in normandy
- foreground - in short, quick suggestive strokes
- background - homogeneous treatment of sky and sea
53
Q
Berthe Morisot - summer’s day
A
- undefined contours, quick, coarse and zig-zag brushstrokes - energize Monet and Renoir’s clam water surface
54
Q
Mary Cassatt
A
- born in Pittsburgh of a wealthy family
- studied in Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
- 1866 - moved to france, befriended Edgar Degas
- only american to exhibit with the impressionists
- dealer of impressionist paintings for wealthy american collectors
55
Q
mary cassatt - the child’s bath
A
- influence of japanese woodblock prints: high vantage point, female subject
- favourite theme: women caring for children, created also in pastels ( learnt from degas)
- refer to: Bathtime by Kitagawa Utamaro
56
Q
Mary Cassatt - the boating party
A
- hard contours, flat surfaces, simplified colour blocks
- bold geometry and decorative patterning - connect her with post-impressionists
