Impressionism/Post-Impressionism is my favorite form of visual art. It all started with a Claude Monet painting where a critic said it looks more like an “Impression” than a painting. Monet did not use black and gray in his paintings. Instead, colors were broken down and used individually creating many bright colors as well as dark.
Le Parc Monceau, Claude Monet, 1876
Impressionists focused on conveying atmosphere, time of day, and how light effects colors. Many landscape paintings were reproduced at different times of the day to show the effects of light on objects.Previous art forms had boundaries on the art style. Laws if you will. Although I enjoy those different styles, Impressionism to me is the best. Previous artforms required straight lines, certain specific colors, curves, etc. Impressionism was new, fresh, and different. It was not accepted by the general public initially. The artists were considered radicals. They did most of their paintings outdoors which was unconventional at the time.
The Starry Night, Vincent Van Gogh, 1889.
My favorite painter (and probably one of the most famous painters of the time) is Vincent Van Gogh. He was a Post-Impressionist. The colors used and how they are broken down to individual shades in The Starry Night are amazing. Van Gogh was a night owl. It is said that he didn’t find sleep until three or four in the morning and got most of his inspiration during the night time. Van Gogh suffered from mental illness, alcoholism, and had bad luck in the love department. It is said that these bouts with these illnesses may have effected his artwork. He ended his own life with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His art is one of the biggest influences on modern art.
cited
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impressionism
- http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/glo/impressionism/
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_van_Gogh
October 23, 2009 at 6:43 pm
Thank you for the very informative post. The synopsis of how Monet achieved his colors and style was interesting. I also enjoyed the description of Van Gogh and the explanation of his work and life. What happened to change the radical impressionists to be viewed as more mainstream artists?
October 23, 2009 at 9:16 pm
I liked your choice of impressionism/post-impressionism style, it was mine as well. I loved the information you gave about Van Gogh, as well as your personal feelings on him as an artist. The layout of your blog is great, I like how you wrote a blurb about the painting and put the picture right under it. It made it very easy and nice to look at. I will be using your layout for future blogs that I do.
Thanks for sharing
-Ashley
October 27, 2009 at 4:34 pm
Your view of Impressionism has even me new insight on the art form. I generally do not favor Impressionism and tend to like post- impressionism better for it’s infusion of drama and personality. But your critique has made me almost favor Impressionism because as you stated it was new, fresh, and original and it was something that hadn’t been done before, that in itself is something to respect because being too different was frowned upon and it took some very strong minded individuals to have the courage to continue an art form that so many didn’t appreciate right off bat. The Le Parc Monceau by Claude Monet in 1876 is a very beautiful painting. It’s as if your standing right there in the yard watching the trees sway in the breeze as thee sweet scent of flowers floats into your nostrils. The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh is a painting I favor as well. It’s like looking into an alternate universe. Over all you did a good critique, but how would you compare Impressionism to the styles before it? And do you see any link between the past painting forms and impressionism?
October 28, 2009 at 7:08 am
I really liked reading your blog. It is very informative. I like the fact that you went back and dug up some history as to where the Impressionist style came from. It is very interesting. I like the pictures you used within your blog. It was a constant reminder to the style of painting you are talking about. It looks like you’ve covered all of your bases, and seem to understand this whole topic rather well. Good job
October 28, 2009 at 2:44 pm
Really enjoyed reading this insightful discourse regarding Impressionism…thanks for starting such a great discussion.
November 7, 2009 at 1:02 am
There is a stunning Post Impressionism show at the Cleveland Museum right now, I haven’t been, live thousands of miles away, but wanted to make you aware of it.
December 26, 2009 at 11:06 pm
Jesse, I enjoyed your blog on Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. It was enlightening. Your format of posting an image then a narrative was well thought out and easy to follow and I appreciate that you cited your reference sources. I find it ironic that the first mention of impressionism was meant to be a criticism, don’t you? It is not surprising that this style of art caught-on and became so incredibly popular. Isn’t it amazing how paint applied in quick brush strokes, in an almost frenzied manner can create such beautiful images? The talent required to conceive the image then transfer it to the canvas is enormous. I believe it requires much more talent, more imagination to paint in this method than in the realist style, do you agree?
I appreciate that provided insight into the man behind the art with your details of the sad life of Van Gough, such drama, no wonder he is one of the most famous painters of this era.
Thanks for your post and good luck in your studies.