Early ArtImpressionism

Jessica StatonPeriod 3/4

August 8th, 2007

Water-Lilies (1906) by Claude Monet

When & Where It Began

• Started in the 19th Century

• Around the 1860s to 1900s

• Paris, France• Impression, Sunrise

(1873) by Claude Monet

The Water-Lily Pond, Harmony in Green (1899) by Claude Monet

Philosophy

• Called "en plein air“ (outdoor)• Break away from the “norm”• Capture visual reality• Spontaneous and informal• Allowed people to accept the art as an “object

within itself”• Paint outdoors, natural scenery

The Palazzo Dario (1908) by Claude Monet

Characteristics

• Looks “unfinished”• Shows light and darks’

changing qualities– Shows the changes of time

• Short, “broken” brush strokes

• Open composition• Unusual angles• Varied use of color• Art of immediacy and

movement

Lilacs, Grey Weather (1873) by Claude Monet

Political & Historical Background

• Emperor Napoleon III• Académie des beaux-arts gave standards for art

– No appreciation for impressionism– Color was conservative, brush strokes suppressed,

concealed artist (emotions, personality and techniques)

• The Salon rejected many of the art sent to them– Napoleon III allowed the public to judge their work

• The public was unsure at first, then accepting• Franco-Prussian War (1870)

Houses of Parliament, Sunset (1904) by Claude Monet

Oscar-Claude Monet

• November 14, 1840 – Paris, France

• Father was a grocer• Mother was a singer• Went to La Havre

Secondary school of arts• Mother died (January

28th, 1857) when he was 16

• Met future wife Camille Doncieux– Had first child Jean (1867)

Branch of the Seine near Giverny (1897) by Claude Monet

Oscar-Claude Monet (Part 2)• Painted and sold charcoal caricatures

for ten to twenty francs• Attempted suicide by jumping into the

Seine– Financial struggles

• Married Camille Doncieux (1873)– 2nd son Michel (1878)– Died of tuberculosis September 5th 1879

• Died of lung cancer (December 5th, 1926)

The Grand Canal (1908) by Claude Monet

Impression, Sunrise (1873)

• Beautiful combination of reds and blues

• Strikes me as calm and quiet

• Vibrant contrasts between cool and warm colors

• The boaters stand out well, sun is defined

• Gave Impressionism its’ name

Rouen Cathedral Series• 13 pieces all-together• Great show of light

contrast and conflicting colors

• Wonderful precision in the way he painted the architecture

• Accurate• Gives the sense of

solidity and physical permanency or immortality

Edgar De Gas

• July 19th, 1834 – Paris, France

• Father was a banker• Attended a law school

– Hated it

• Attended an art school– Loved it

• National Guard– Refused due to bad

eyesight

• Picked up photography for this painting

Edgar De Gas

• Father died in 1874– Brother Rene was in heaps of debt– Sold art and house to pay it off

• Isolated himself afterwards, selling his work to support himself

• Stopped working around 1912• Nearly blind before death• Never married and died alone (1917)

– Outlived many of his friends

The Bellelli Family (1858-1867)

• Bright colors on the wall and floor that contrast (warm and cool)

• Unusual positions of second child and man

• Obvious tension• Excellent because

it holds a hidden message (Men vs. Women)

Woman with Chrysanthemums (1865)

• So much detail broken up in the “impressionist” style

• Cool colors override the warm ones

• Makes the picture look almost cold

• The main focus is definitely the flowers, though they curve against the woman’s shoulder

Thank you…