Impressionism was a artistic movement which appeared in France, in the second half of the 19th century, during the Belle Époque (Beautiful Period) period.
THE main proposition of impressionism it was to show, through the plastic arts, mainly painting, the effects of light in the environment, in addition to presenting the artists' personal impressions of what they observed, through primary colors (also called colors pure).
It is known as the movement that gave rise to Modern Art and his works are known for the presence of contrast, shadow effects made through the artists' own brushstrokes, in addition to the light and clarity of colors.
The term impressionism appeared after the first work of the French painter Claude Monet, call of "Print - Sunrise” (Impression du Soleil Levant - 1872). The artist is known as one of the main drivers of the impressionist movement.
Poster Print Sunrise, by Claude Monet (1872).
Impressionism was also known for opposing the movement that prevailed at the time, neoclassicism, which inspired artists to
expose reality and objectivity through their works, without the presence of their opinions as to what they observed.As the focus of impressionism was for artists to portray their personal vision in the works, giving more freedom to create, was a movement harshly criticized by the French artistic elite of the era.
In addition to Monet, others artists who stood out for their impressionist works were:
- The painter Édouard Manet (1832 – 1883);
- The painter Edgar Degas (1834 – 1917);
- The painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841 – 1919);
- The painter Camille Pissarro (1830 – 1903);
- The painter Berthe Morisot (1841-1895);
- the painter Mary Cassatt (1844-1926);
- The sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840-1917).
As it was one of the first artistic movements to focus on greater freedom in the fine arts, allowing artists to follow less academic rules and techniques, impressionism became one of the greatest artistic movements in Europe, beginning the era of art Modern.
At main features of impressionism they are:
- Emphasis on nature themes, especially landscapes;
- Valorization of natural light;
- Use of decomposed and primary colors;
- Use of colored and luminous shadows;
- Focus on studies of optical effects (illusions);
- Appreciation for outdoor painting;
- Preference for color mixing through optical illusion and not technique (merges), that is, there is no mixing of colors to create new tones, only the use of primary pigments juxtaposed;
- Application of the law of complementary colors;
Top Impressionist Artists and Works
Claudet Monet
French painter Claudet Monet was considered one of the most important artists for the Impressionist movement. His work entitled Impression, Nascer do Sol, was responsible for giving the name to the movement.
This name was given to the movement in a pejorative way by the plastic arts critic Louis Leroy, when he saw Monet's work. This is because the painting conveyed the “impression” of a landscape and not necessarily its reality.
This happened, because until then the works of the time had full influence of the neoclassicist movement, in which the artists portrayed the reality and objectivity of what they observed, contrary to any art that came out of the academic techniques of the movement.
Frame Water lilies and the Japanese bridge, 1899 by Claude Monet.
Édouart Manet
He was a famous French Impressionist painter, known for challenging the style of standard works at the time by using new color techniques in his paintings. One of his main works was entitled A Maximilian's execution.
Execution of Maximilian, 1868.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
The French painter started his life in the fine arts by moving to Paris at a very young age and becoming an assistant to a porcelain painter. He developed his skills until he became one of the greatest impressionist artists. One of his best-known works is the painting boatmen's lunch.
Poster The boatmen's lunch, 1880.
Edgar Degas
It was the French Impressionist painter who became famous for his works aimed at female figures and for the effect of movement he made in his paintings. His two most famous works are Ballerinas on stage and Ballerinas in Blue.
Ballerinas on stage, from 1890.
Camille Pissarro
The French painter was also considered to be one of the leaders of the Impressionist movement and was the only painter to participate in 8 independent exhibitions held by the Impressionists in Paris. One of his main works is entitled village near Pontoise.
Wall mural Village near Pontoise, 1874.
Berthe Morisot
The French painter, who even painted realistic works, became friends with Édouart Mante, who directly influenced her way of painting. Berthe became one of the most famous painters of the impressionist movement, leaving several works that represent the period, such as her painting reading (reading).
Reading painting, 1888.
Mary Cassatt
Another famous painter for the Impressionist movement was the American Mary Cassatt, who lived much of her adult life in France, being influenced by the movement. One of her main works is called The Tea (the tea).
Picture The Tea, 1880.
Post-impressionism and neo-impressionism
Post-impressionism is an artistic period that emerged at the end of the 19th century, extending until the beginning of the 20th century and appeared as an extension of Impressionism, but with a new set of styles, techniques and artistic trends.
These new techniques provided the freedom to use new colors that were not used in Impressionism, like black, for example. In addition, he sought independence in the creation of the work, with an emphasis on greater freedom for the artist.
The central idea of post-impressionist artists was not to deny or forget impressionism, but rather to improve it by having a free artistic approach, simplified and expressive.
The importance of “living color” and two-dimensionality in works are two very important artistic approaches for post-impressionists. Cubism, Expressionism and Fauvism are examples of artistic styles that emerged from this period.
the main post-impressionist artists, they are:
- the dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, known for using the oil on canvas technique. One of his most famous works is entitled The Bedroom in Arles, from the year 1888.
Room in Arles, 1888.
- the french painter Paul Cézzane (1839-1906) known for one of his most famous works, entitled Apples and Oranges.
Painting Still Life with Apples, 1890.
- the french painter Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) known for one of his most famous works called The Vision After the Sermon.
Painting Vincent Van Gogh paints sunflowers, 1888.
The period of neo-impressionism, another extension of Impressionism, focused on new technical approaches, being marked by the Pointillism technique, also called Divisionism.
One of the best-known artists of this period was the French painter Georges Seurat, known for being the proponent of pointillism in paintings.
Poster Sunday afternoon on the island of Grande Jatte, 1886.
See also the meaning of Pointillism, Cubism and Fauvism.
Impressionism in Brazil
Impressionism arrived in Brazil from two conditions: with the new fashion of painting outdoors and the creation of countless new colors in industries in the 19th century.
The movement emerged in the country in the 1880s, in Rio de Janeiro, where the Escola do Ar Livre was opened.
The paintings became a landmark in Impressionism when Brazilian artists began to paint the city of Rio de Janeiro in their works with the freer look that Impressionism provided.
The Italian-Brazilian Eliseu Visconti is the pioneer of this style in the country, and one of the most expressive representatives of the genre.
Among the Brazilian artists, those who stood out most in the impressionist style are:
- Elisha Visconti (1866 – 1944);
- Almeida Júnior (1850 – 1899);
- Artur Timóteo da Costa (1882 – 1923);
- Henrique Cavalleiro (1892 – 1975);
- Alfredo Andersen (1860 – 1935);
- Vicente do Rego Monteiro (1899 – 1970).
Impressionism and Expressionism
The expressionist movement was born in Germany, in 1905, being a subjective, dramatic artistic movement that sought to express the feelings of artists in face of what they observed.
THE main difference between impressionism and expressionismwhat is, is that Impressionist artists put into their work their opinions and perceptions about what they observed, while Expressionists painted about their feelings about what they saw.
In expressionism, the artist painted everything he felt, getting rid of any academic technique or general rules for painting.
The relationship between these two great artistic periods was the greater freedom of artists to leave the field of reality in his paintings, putting more of his perceptions and feelings, which did not happen in previous movements like Realism. Both are known as the movements that started the period of Modern Art.
See more about the meaning of expressionism, modern Art and read about The Types of Art.
Impressionism in Literature
In literature, impressionism represents the use of exact language, based on scientific thought, to narrate events in everyday reality.
Other themes that were also addressed by the impressionists are: eroticism, frustration, lack of communication, death and the weariness of life.
The authors appropriated metaphors to describe emotions and feelings. In this case, it was also characteristic of Impressionism the valorization of the vision of the present (“visual perception of the snapshot”), with the description of the colors and tones of the landscapes.
Some of main writers who stand out in this style are: Marcel Proust (1871 – 1922), Raul Pompeia (1863 – 1895), Eça de Queirós (1845 – 1900) and Euclides da Cunha (1866 – 1909).
See also the meaning of realism.
