Impressionism I

 “Impressionism is the newspaper of the soul” –Henri Matisse

 A true art of its time, Impressionism was coined by the very artists of this style of painting after a critic used the term to degrade one of Monet’s most celebrated works. The scene is urban, industrialized Paris during the 1870s and 1880s; the key creators are artists forming a balance between their objective observance of nature as well as a subjective, emotional response to it.

Claude Monet, Saint-Lazare Train Station, 1877 oil on canvas

Although Impressionism is often regarded as a single movement it can be studied more accurately as an indefinable and changing phenomenon much like the chaotic and unstable urban transformation Franceexperienced during the latter half of the 19^th century.  In its technique and content Impressionism borrows from an ever changing Parisian cityscape which would indelibly inspire generations of artists and movements to come.

Giner Bueno, Mercado, 46x35"

 While at close range an Impressionist work may seem visually indecipherable, yet from a distance it becomes a vivid composition made up of energetic, agitated brush strokes. This style takes on the qualities of a sketch—speed, spontaneity and determination—through painting. There is no attempt to conceal brushwork and seamlessly fuse together tonal gradations; instead the lack of traditional clarity is welcomed. In addition to choppy paint application the type of light used by Impressionist artists lends significantly to their works’ unique appearance.  Local color, the light and color formation chosen by Impressionists favors the combination of the object’s natural tones and white light. This can be seen in the luminous canvases of Spanish Impressionist Giner Buenowho says of his technique “It is difficult for a Valencian painter to escape the luminosity of our land, to escape its color and its contrasts.  I am captive of all that and in my paintings I try to reflect, within the Impressionistic school, the joy of our beaches, of our festivals and of the life of the villages in the interior of our arid and ruggedValencia.”  In his works, like many Impressionist masters before him, Bueno captures a fleeting moment in time; a concept that is historically grounded from the beginnings of Impressionism.

Renoir, Le Moulin de la Galette, 1876 oil on canvas

 Next week’s Impressionism II will delve further into the subject matter of Impressionism and how it has left an imprint on artists of today. Stay tuned!