“Trees are not violet and the sky is not butter”

1. IMPRESSIONISM A style of painting (1840-1926 French) Click on the painting Claude Monet “Haystacks at sunset” 1891. Oil on canvas board. “Trees are not violet and the sky is not butter”

2. Impressionism The movement's name was derived from Monet's early work, Impression: Sunrise, which was singled out for criticism by Louis Leroy upon its exhibition. The hallmark of the style is the attempt to capture the subjective impression of light in a scene. Looks more like an impression of a painting that a real painting! The Impressionist style was probably the single most successful and identifiable "movement" ever, and is still widely practiced today.

3. An Impressionist artist wanted to….. • To capture the impression of light in a scene. • Depict a naturalistic and down-to-earth treatment of its subject matter. Photography’s influence. • Photography in the nineteenth century both challenged painters to be true to nature and encouraged them to exploit aspects of the painting medium, like colour, that photography lacked.

4. Subject matter. The Impressionist turned away from Renaissance tradition and were uninterested in religion, mythology & history. Instead they looked to contemporary life, leisure, transportation and down-and-outs. Degas

5. What happened in art just before Impressionism began? Why am I sitting here naked with these men that are fully dressed?

6. Impressionism Forerunner… Manet • Manet (1832-83) who we see in this self portrait was born into a wealthy Parisian family. • He was known as a painter of Modern life. • He believed that to be successful as and artists you had to be recognised by the Salon (an academy which judged and exhibited art in Paris) • After he was rejected by the Salon he set up his own exhibitions. • He was also influenced by the flat areas of colour that was seen in Japanese art that was new to the Western world at the time.

7. Luncheon on the Grass. Le Dejeuner sur l’ Herbe. • Manet’s Luncheon on the Grass… which is modern version of the Pastoral Concert by Titian(or Giorgione?) was shown at the exhibition of refused artists called The Salon des Refusés. • This painting caused a scandal! • Napoleon III is Napoleon Bonaparte's nephew. He authorised the Exhibition of refused artists from the Salon, such as Manet and Monet

8. Compare Manet & Giorgione… Luncheon on the Grass by Manet. 1862 Pastoral Concert by Giorgione.1510

9. Olympia, Manet, 1863. This courtesan stares out at us with a very confronting gaze. This painting is based on a character from a play by Alexandre Dumas (les Miserables, 3 Musketeers) about social climbing prostitute with the same name…Olympia. Olympia confronts the viewer, she is powerful.. NOT an accommodating female nude ..

10. Compare Manet & Titian… What is Manet trying to say to his audience? Olympia, Manet, 1868 Venus of Urbino, Titian, 1538

11. What was happening in art at the time? Art students spent hours studying the masterpieces of the great Renaissance artists, such as Da Vinci, that hung in the Parisian Museum, The Louvre. Copyists in the Grand Gallery of the Louvre: 1867 And then…………………. Along came Claude Monet: They copied the exact forms, colours and tones of the traditional Masterpieces, hoping to achieve the illusion of reality captured by the Renaissance Master Artists. The painter of Light and one of the most famous of the Impressionists.

12. To create an IMPRESSION of a thing is to capture its essence. Monet and the Impressionists were interested in recreating more than just the “appearance” of a scene. Claude Monet “Impression Sunrise” 1872: Oil on board

13. In 1874, 55 artists held the first independent Group exhibition of Impressionist Paintings. Many of the participating artists’’, including Claude Monet, had been rejected by the official French Salon exhibition, the institute that judged whether new paintings were successful or rejected. The Critic, Louis Leroy, who worked for the Official French Salon, saidof Monet’s painting: “A harbour at dawn: SNORT! AN IMPRESSION Wallpaper………looks more finished” However, within a year, “Impressionism” was an accepted term in the Art world and the artists who followed this radical style became popular and successful artists.

14. Impressionismbroke every rule of the French Academy of Fine Arts (the conservative school had dominated art training and taste since 1648) This break with tradition was one of the reasons the critics disliked Impressionist artworks. There was a focus on the fleeting and changing effects of light on the surface of the subject matter. Unusual colours were chosen to represent the forms. The compositions were cropped so that they resembled snapshots from a camera. The paint was applied with a thickly textured technique The subject matter was from “everyday” real life activities.

15. The critics thought that art should follow traditional themes such as: I am a cranky critic and I KNOW what good art is and believe me Impressionism is NOT good art. Monet is a lunatic! What has happened to all the “GOOD” paintings? Art should be REALISTIC! Art should teach moral lessons. Artists should paint biblical, historical and mythological scenes. Paint surfaces should be smooth. Images should be idealised. Compositions should be symmetrical. Techniques should be careful. The critics had other opinions about the way art should look, be made and how it should function.

16. The Impressionist’s wanted to paint and exhibit their work according to their own rules.

17. The Influence of Photography on Impressionism Edgar Degas (1834-1917)Four Dancers (oil on canvas, 1899)National Gallery, Washington DC The Impressionists further upset the Académie with their composition techniques. Traditionally, artists had created images where the lines, shapes, tones and colours were arranged in a way that led the eye to the focal point of the painting. This was the most important area of the picture and was usually situated in a central position. It was considered poor composition if the background or edges of the painting detracted from the focal point. True to form, the Impressionists broke this rule. At this time, photography was in its early stages of development. As there was often a difference between what the photographer saw in the viewfinder of his camera and what actually appeared on the negative, photographers would crop their pictures to improve their composition. This resulted in some unusual arrangements which emphasised shapes and forms at the edge of the image. Some of Impressionists, like Degas' in his 'Four Dancers', embraced the asymmetrical effects of cropping and made it a prominent feature of their compositions. A different way of organising the elements in a composition. The Impressionists further upset the Académie with their composition techniques. Traditionally, artists had created images where the lines, shapes, tones and colours were arranged in a way that led the eye to the focal point of the painting. This was the most important area of the picture and was usually situated in a central position. It was considered poor composition if the background or edges of the painting detracted from the focal point. True to form, the Impressionists broke this rule.

18. In the 1800’s in France the Grand Salon was the only Official Venue available to exhibit artworks I can’t see Stop squashing me! OUCH !#8&! That’s not art, that’s rubbish! No wonder Monet and the other Impressionists did not want to exhibit their work at the Salon. The critics were scathing! It was crowded! The paintings were squashed together on the walls!

19. So Why did the Impressionist’s decide to change the way they used paint?

20. The Cultural Frame The late 1800’s saw the development of many new technologies, such as the camera. Say CHEESE BOOM The development of new technologies prompted artists to take innovative approaches to their artmaking practices

21. It this time, photography was in its early stages of development. As there was often a difference between what the photographer saw in the viewfinder of his camera and what actually appeared on the negative, photographers would crop their pictures to improve their composition. This resulted in some unusual arrangements which emphasised shapes and forms at the edge of the image. Some of Impressionists, like Degas' in his 'Four Dancers', embraced the asymmetrical effects of cropping and made it a prominent feature of their compositions. Photography’s influence.

22. The Cultural Frame They didn’t want their subjects to look utterly realistic. Artists responded to these changes in Society by creating artworks that were new and different! Why spend hours making something look realistic when you can simply take a photograph? Paint must do different things. It must be expressive in other ways. They wanted them to look like they were made of PAINT!

23. Monet was interested in painting the same subject over and over, at different times of the day (or night), in different seasons and in varying weather conditions. His main aim was to study and recreate the changing effects of LIGHT on his subject. These are all painted representations of Rouen Cathedral in different weather conditions, by Monet in the1890’s

24. The bold designs of Japanese woodblock prints, which were popular in France at the time, were another influence on the Impressionists. Their asymmetrical arrangements contrasting large areas of flat colour with patches of intricate pattern offered a compositional format that the Impressionists could use to develop their ideas about colour.

25. To capture the effects of light artists began to paint outside. This meant that their canvases were smaller as they had to be portable.

26. Technologies thatallowedartists to study and paintoutside Paint in tubes Portable easels Pencils

27. Monet painted the Haystacks that sat in the fields near his home in the French countryside. He used short, thick brushstrokes and a sketchy style to capture his subject in varying weather conditions. In his application of the paint he aimed to emphasise the essence of his subject rather than its details. Monet would mix colours together as he applied them to the surface of the canvas, rather than carefully mixing them on his palette before hand.

28. He preferred to work en plein air which means “Outdoors”, directly in contact with his subject. In the latter part of his life Monet responded to his immediate environment by painting his garden with water lily ponds, hundreds of times at varying times of the day and from different angles. “ My only merit lies in having painted directly in front of nature, seeking to render my impressions before the most fleeting moments” Monet.

29. Some of Monet’s Waterlilies on display at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Today Monet’s work is loved and admired by a wide audience from all around the world. His works appeal to most viewers through their vibrant and shimmering representations of light, subtle manipulations of colour and direct subject matter. His works are financially valuable for collectors who follow the financial art market, while critics of today respect the innovative approaches to painting that were undertaken by Monet and the other Impressionist artists.

30. Claude Monet Leader of the Impressionists Monet’s aim was to capture the fleeting effects of light, shadow and atmosphere. • He applied his paint in thick, heavy layers or strokes (impasto). Impression Sunrise 1872 Distinguished from Renaissance ideal that used flat, smooth paint surface

31. MONET, Claude Impression, Sunrise (1873) Oil on canvas, 19 x 24 3/8" MuseeMarmottan, Paris.

32. Monet’s Rouen Cathedral in sun, 1894, oil on canvas, 40” x 26” Venice Twilight.

33. Monet’s Water Lilies (c. 1900) Monet painted a series of large canvases on water lilies. He frequently painted his house at Giverny with the gardens and Japanese bridge. His friend Renoir painted him, painting in his garden.

34. Renoir The Luncheon of the Boating Party 1881 • Subjects: outdoor scenes leisure time & gaiety of • middle-class Parisians • Renoir painted works that were at times like photographic snap shots. His work had an aura of spontaneity. • His handling of paint is loose and rapid with thick “impasto” brushstrokes. • His light and shadow show the fleeting effects of sunlight which falls in patches, dappling the surface.

35. RENOIR. The Luncheon of the Boating Party (1881) Oil on canvas, 51 x 68 in.

36. Renoir’s Moulin de la Galette, 1867 oil on canvas. In this image we see the dappling effect of fleeting light. People not posed, and are shown enjoying meals and dancing. Renoir has used the photographic randomness of clipped figures.

37. Degas • Subjects: ballet dancers, the opera and brothels. The Dance Class .1881 • Small Pastels and Oil Paintings

38. Rehearsal on Stage, Degas, 1874, pastel drawing Rehearsal on Stage, Edgar Degas, Pastel drawing. Worked mostly indoors (not en plein air) Asymmetrical compositions. Feathery brushstrokes showing the dancers’ costumes Japanese print influence in composition

39. Degas’ The Absinthe Drinkers (c. 1875)

40. Mary Cassatt • Subjects: Mothers and children, her sister. • Friend of Degas & Renoir • Influenced by Japanese prints. Pastel & Oil. • Cassatt is known for her naturalism, and her depiction of the innocence of children. Young Mother 1891

41. Breakfast in Bed, Mary Cassatt Cassatt did a series of paintings and pastel drawings on the theme of mother and child. Tenderness foreign to other Impressionists American expatriate Influential in bringing Impressionist paintings to US where they were a huge hit Natural charm Japanese influence Everyday life of women, independent, living their lives

42. Maternal Caress, woodblock print, Mary Cassatt was influenced by Japanese prints tilted style, outlining, pattern, and treatment of space. She did a series of woodblock prints inspired by ukiyo-e.

43. Lydia in a Loge, Mary Cassatt, 1879 Oil on canvas, 32” x 23” Shows her sister at the opera Again, women going about their daily activities Dazzling colors and brushwork

44. Summer’s Day, Berthe Morisot, oil on canvas, 1879 Sister in law of Manet and granddaughter of Fragonard Sketchy, painterly brushwork Middle class women Asymmetrical composition Another female Impressionist

45. After you have read the information do the on line test. Click on the picture and read through the information to revise