Impressionism

Bar at the Folie-Bergere Edouard Manet

Impressionism Paris, France 1862-86 attempted to capture the

temporary effects of light and color “Local color”- an object’s true

color in white light rapid, sketchy brushstrokes,

un-mixed paint Outdoors!, seaside, cafes and

streets of Paris portray immediate visual

sensations Lead by Monet, Renoir, and

Cassatt

Claude Monet - Impression Sunrise

Impressionism Represent an attempt to capture…

a fleeting moment Elusiveness and impermanence of images and conditions Contemporary urban scenes Abbreviation, speed, spontaneity

Formative Elements Layers of unmixed paint Painted outdoors

Allowed to see the effects of light and color to capture the atmosphere and environment

Intersection of… What they saw/felt Subjective and personal response to nature

Impressionism stations Assigned groups of 2/3 5 minutes at each poster Switch to the right, stay with your

color (yellow/black, pink/black, lime green/black)

On the last column, tell me the following: Subject matter One additional supporting fact

Claude Monet 1840-1926 French Important Fact:

Founded Impressionism Characteristics:

Painted same scene at different time of day and season to show effects of changing light on color

Famous works: Water Lilies Impression: Sunrise Rouen Cathedral

Water Lilies

Claude Monet - Impression Sunrise

Claude Monet - Impression Sunrise

When first exhibited, this painting was criticized for not showing an image, but merely showing “an impression” of an image. As a result, this new artistic movement was given the name Impressionism

This scene shows two small boats by the sea shore.

Notice how short, choppy brushstrokes are used to create this piece.

St. Lazare Station (Industrialization)

Notice the effect light has on the appearance of color

Pierre-Auguste Renoir 1841-1919 French Important Fact:

Focused on feminine sensuality

Characteristics of Painting: Delighted in people of

Paris fascinated with every

day life Famous works:

Le Moulin de la Galette The Bathers

Le Moulin de la Galette

Le Moulin de la Galette

• Renoir delighted in `the people’s Paris', of which the Moulin de la Galette near the top of Montmartre was a characteristic place of entertainment, and his picture of the Sunday afternoon dance in its acacia-shaded courtyard is one of his happiest compositions.

• This en plein air painting has human beings, mainly women, being the subject of this painting.

The Bathers “I consider my nude finished when I feel like smacking her bottom.” -Renoir

The Girls at the Piano

Mary Cassatt 1845-1926 American – worked in

France Important Fact:

restrained by societal ideas

Characteristics: Only painted “womanly”

topics – why? Famous works:

The Bath The Boating Party

The Boating Party

The Bath(How is emphasis created in this painting?)

The Bath(How is emphasis created in this painting?)

• In The Child's Bath, the circular shapes of the figures’ heads, the basin, and the pitcher, as well as the striped pattern of the woman’s dress animate the portrait of a woman bathing a child. Cassatt’s unusual vantage point (from above) as well as her choice of a female subject show her interest in Japanese woodblock prints, which had become extremely popular in France at the time.

• The many paintings, pastels, and prints in which Cassatt depicted children being bathed, dressed, read to, held, or nursed reflect the most advanced 19th-century ideas about raising children.

Influence of Japanese

artwork on

Impressionism

Auguste Rodin 1840-1917 French Important Fact:

Revived sculpture as an artform

Characteristics of Work: used CLUMPS of clay to create

sculptures Famous works:

The Thinker The Age of Bronze

The Thinker

The Thinker

• The Thinker was originally meant to be Dante in front of the Gates of Hell, pondering his great poem. Dante as a voluptuous naked male may seem absurd to those who think of the images painted in his time and after, but Dante's head does bear some resemblance to the profile of The Thinker. Moreover, Dante's headdress is distinctive and seems to be indicated by the markings Rodin made on his working copy of The Thinker.

• Why is The Thinker naked? Because Rodin wanted a heroic figure à la Michelangelo to represent Thinking as well as Poetry.

• The work of Rodin resonates with the great aspirations of the 19th century, the century of Darwin, Marx and Wagner. But in his equation, The Thinker = the Poet = the Creator, Rodin was way ahead of his time.

• The Thinker was the first work by Rodin to be erected in a public place. It was inaugurated in front of the Pantheon on 21 April 1906 during an intense political and social crises which turned this sculpture into a socialist symbol.

The Age of Bronze

Edgar Degas 1834-1917 French Important Facts:

Famous for his work in painting, sculpture, printmaking and drawing

Characteristics: over half his works depict

dancers Brought traditional methods of

a history painter to show contemporary subject matter

The Dance Class

The Dance Class

• The Dance Class was exhibited in 1876 at the second Impressionist exhibition. The subject of the work is a dance class conducted by the famous ballet master Jules Perrot.

• The scene is a careful arrangement of what seems to be a random collection of postures and poses. One ballerina, who is the central focus of the composition, dances while the others mill about around her, presumably waiting their turn.

• Like most of the dancers in Degas's works, these ballerinas are not performing. Degas has caught them in the unglamorous environs of the practice hall.

At the Barre

At the BarAbsinthe

HomeworkRealist Self-Portrait Objective:

Create a Realist self-portrait Requirements:

All subject matter in the painting must be “Realistic”.

Clean lines… in a setting where you would occur

Your illustration must take up an entire sheet of white computer paper.

Your illustration must use color and must be drawn.

Setting- A place where you would ACTUALLY BE

Point Value: 20 pts (Equals two percentage points of

your grade)

HomeworkImpressionist Self-Portrait

1) Your illustration must take up an entire sheet of white computer paper.

2) All subject matter in the painting must be illustrated using the techniques of impressionism: ONLY SHORT “BRUSHSTROKES” CAN BE USED!

3) Your illustration must use color.

4) Setting: Outside, Cafes, Streets of Lexington (pretty ones)

Exit SlipIdentify the artist of each image and

describe one characteristic of their style.1

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