Impressionism
The term 'impressionists' was first used by a critic to try to poke fun at a group of artists that had decided to hold their own exhibition in 1874 due to being turn down elsewhere. Some of the artists in question were Monet, Renoir, Degas and Cezanne, and the term stuck as term for a new direction in art which took place roughly between late 1860's and early 1880's.
The impressionism movement was the development of a new way of painting in defiance of the traditional methods used by the Royal Academy. Strict rules about the training of artists were set by the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture and these rules governed what was chosen for display at the famous yearly exhibition at the Salon. This event would usually guarantee the success of its exhibitors, but they would not be chosen if they did not follow the rules.
An impressionist’s main aim was to paint the world as it was, and take everyday scenes and treat them with respect. Inspiration for the impressionists came from art critic and poet Charles Baudelaire who showed the 'heroism of modern life', and scenes could be of anything, from nightlife to more private homely images. The impressionists experimented with there art, they changed composition, style and color to challenge the 'conventions of traditional art', this also changed the way we see the world that is around us.
The main group of impressionist artists was
Edouard Manet (1832-1883) Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) Mary Cassatt (1845-1926) Gustave Caillebotte (1848-1894) Claude Monet (1840-1926) Edgar Degas (1834-1917) Berthe Morisot (1841-1895) Alfred Sisley (1839-1899) Paul Cezanne (1839-1906)
Many of these artists met regularly during the 1860's to discuss their ideas and often argue about their views. They talked about how things should be with art and writing, and they all had very strong views which were not always shared by the entire group.
These artists were very poor when they started out, as Impressionist paintings were hard to sell and made very little money when they did sell. It was only approximately 20 years after the impressionism movement started that any money was made by the artists. The change came about when more peopled visited the exhibitions and artwork was then taken to America where rich business people started to collect the work.
At the time of the impressionism movement there was great social and economic change going on all over Europe. Many people were fed up with their working and living conditions and this led to a revolution sweeping across Europe. This obviously had an impact on the artists and gave them the courage to challenge the traditional and ignore the old-fashioned standards of art.
This article just scratches the surface of the impressionism movement as the artists were also influenced by art from other countries, the new art of photography, scientific discoveries about the effects of color and changes in artist equipment.
To find out the full story check out the Books on Impressionism
To find out more about the artists mentioned above. |
