Impressionism is a vaguely defined
technique of painting and an attitude of individualism shared by a group of
allied artists unofficially led by Édouard Manet. Impressionistic
works, typically, included the following:
1. The rejection of Chiaroscuro: as you all may recall Chiaroscuro is the modeling of form and space through
light and dark gradation and contrast. Non impressionist painters would utilize
a dark under painting and various thickness of paint to achieve the
effect. However Impressionists like Monet utilized a light under painting
and used a fairly uniform thickness of paint. This resulted in a reduction of
tonal contrast and made the painting appear flatter.
2. The depiction of the
interaction of light and color via working en plein air: prior to this point most painters didn’t paint outdoors. However
Impressionists like Monet did works en plein air which means in the open air or
outdoors. Monet and his associates discovered that outside they were better
able to better capture the interaction of light and color, utilizing cool and
warm colors to depict light and shadow.
3. The equalizing of
brushstrokes across the surface of the canvas: most works at
the time when submitted for display at Salons had smooth, clean, impersonal
surfaces. However impressionistic works were characterized by their use of
discrete patches (or taches) of color, resulting in a canvas densely clotted
with paint and brushstrokes that varied in width, breadth, direction.
Our group also talked about the flanêurs and their influence on Impressionism, and we made a comparison of Impressionism with NYC street photographer Helen Levitt.
Edouard Manet, A Balcony, 1868-9
Eisenman, Stephen F., Nineteenth Century Art - A Critical History
Helen Levitt Photography
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