Impresionism & PostimpresionismTeacher: Sara del Río

Predecessors: British Romantic Landscape Painters (S.XVIII-S.XIX)

William Turner & John Constable

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THEIR WORK:

-They painted outdoors: taking Nature itself as their model.

-Light and atmospheric phenomenons were their main interestest.

-The repeated topic of their works are landscapes and marines.

Rain, steam and speed, William Turner, 1844

Clouds, John Constable, 1821

Origin of Impressionism (S.XIX)The term ‘Impressionism’ was coined by the art critic Leroy in Paris in 1874 when he was writing a review of an exhibition holded in Nadar Gallery.Monet´s painting Impression. Sunrise, was strong criticized by this journalist who named in a sarcastic way all the arstists included in the exhibition as ‘Impressionists’. Leroy described this Monet painting as ‘brutal and ugly’.

Impression. Sunrise, Monet, 1872

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF IMPRESSIONISM:

-They knew and studied the Color Wheel.

-They studied how color of a scene changes depending on light variations.( Rouen Cathedral, Monet)

-Shadows are painted without following the Chiaroscuro principle. To create shadows, Impressinionist used complementary colors (value contrast between surfaces)

-They used strong brushstrokes, normally overlapping them to obtain secondary and tertiary colors.

-As their predecessors, they prefered to work outdoors instead of a workshop.

Impressionism Masters: France

Monet Manet Renoir

Waterlilies and Japanese bridge, 1899

Monet painting in his floating studio, 1874

Girls at the piano, 1892

Saint-Lazare Station, Monet, 1877

Claude Monet (1840-1926)

Édouard Manet (1832-1883)

The luncheon on the grass, Manet, 1863

Windmill of La Galette, Renoir, 1876

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919)

Pointillism or Divisionism (1880-s.XX)Pointillism was a division of Impresionism developed by Georges Seurat and Paul Signac.

The term ‘Pointillism’ was coined in 1880 when some art critics tried to mock these artists painting style.

General Characteristics:

Pointillist artists replaced the large and random impresionist brushstrokes by short brushstrokes imitating dots.

Pointillism paintings are done overlapping groups of primary color dots to obtain secondary and tertiary colors.

TECHNIQUE

Georges Seurat (1859-1891)

Sunday Afternoon on the island of La Grande Jatte, Seurat, 1886

Paul Signac (1863-1935)

The Papal Palace, Avignon, Signac, 1900

Post-Impressionism (1890-s.XX)

Post-Impressionism was the last period of Impresionism. Artists such as Vincent Van Gogh, Henri de Toulousse-Lautrec and Paul Gauguin were its representatives.

The critic Roger Fry coined ‘Postimpressionism’ term to describe French art after Manet in 1910.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF POST-IMPRESSIONISM:

-They continue working outdoors but they worked indoorsas well.

-Use of vivid colours.

-Distinctive brushstrokes and thick application of paint.

-They were interested at emphasizing expressive effects to describe textures.

-They used unnatural colours to describe real-life scenes.

Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890)

Sunflower, Van Gogh, 1888

Toulousse-Lautrec (1864-1901)

At the Moulin-Rouge, Toulousse-Lautrec, 1892

Paul Gauguin (1848-1903)

Arearea, Gauguin, 1892