Impressionism and Post-Impressionism: A Revolution in 19th-Century Painting
The Painting of the Late 19th Century: Impressionism and Post-Impressionism
Introduction
The 1870s witnessed a significant shift in the economy, impacting all levels of artistic and social life. The failure of the Paris Commune brought a period of stability for the industrial and financial bourgeoisie, marking the peak of their power. The illustrated press expanded, and cultural events became mass phenomena. Two factors influenced artistic life: the popularization of photography and the development of more sensitive film. The spread of artificial light, first gas and then electricity, further emphasized the importance of light as a structuring element of visual appearance. It is within this context that Impressionism emerged as the defining artistic style of the late 19th century.
The Precursor: Édouard Manet
The son of a high-ranking state official, Manet was initially destined for the Naval Academy. After failing the entrance exam, he decided to pursue painting, drawn to the Spanish school and realist painters. Manet gained notoriety with his work Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe (Luncheon on the Grass), which caused controversy due to its subject matter, perceived as pornographic, and its formal treatment characterized by large patches of flat colors, stark tonal contrasts, loose brushwork, and a sketchy feel. In 1865, he presented Olympia, which was also met with rejection. Despite the criticism, Manet gained a solid reputation and even influenced young Impressionist painters who exhibited their works alongside his. Manet can be seen as a bridge between Realism and Impressionism.
Impressionism: Factors and Characteristics
Impressionism was a distinct movement that flourished during the last decades of the 19th century. Several factors contributed to its development:
- A passion for outdoor painting: Impressionists embraced new subjects, including landscapes, seascapes, cityscapes, nighttime scenes, interiors with artificial light, parties, and dances.
- New appreciation of light and color: They sought to practice “absolute realism.” Manet and Pissarro began eliminating black from their palettes, as it does not exist in nature. They used a bright range of light colors (white, blue, pink, red, violet) and reserved cold but luminous colors for shadows, applying touches of complementary colors in certain areas. They emphasized that color and form are inseparable, and light is the true subject of painting (as seen in Monet’s series of the Rouen Cathedral).
- New loose and light technique: Impressionists employed strong, short brushstrokes, sometimes applying thick paint and other times diluting the oil to achieve watercolor effects.
- New approach to illusionistic space: They achieved this through bolder angles and framing.
- New relationship between art and science: Science, particularly photography, influenced painting. This led to a new relationship with the public, who were no longer passive viewers but had to actively engage with the artist’s techniques and mental processes. The artwork was presented as something unfinished (like a print), requiring the viewer to mentally reconstruct it.
- New way of conceiving the relationship between artists: The Impressionists formed a conscious and coherent group, initially emerging spontaneously. By 1862, Sisley, Bazille, Renoir, and Monet were working together.
The Impressionist Artists
- Claude Monet
- Pierre-Auguste Renoir
- Camille Pissarro
- Alfred Sisley
- Edgar Degas
Neo-Impressionism
By 1880, new artistic trends emerged, reviewing and systematizing the main contributions of Impressionism. The primary concern was the union of art and science. Georges Seurat (1859-1891) was influenced by this environment and admired artists like Piero della Francesca, Ingres, and Poussin. From 1882, he experimented with pointillism, a technique of applying pure colors side by side, allowing a new tone to emerge through their optical fusion in the viewer’s retina. His works, such as A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, demonstrate a contrast between the vibrating surface of the canvas, filled with multicolored dots, and the geometric structure of the figures, almost Cubist in nature. Paul Signac (1863-1935) was a disciple of Seurat and a theorist of the movement.
Post-Impressionism
Post-Impressionism encompassed diverse artistic approaches that built upon and reacted against Impressionism. Some key figures include:
- Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: He showed little interest in landscapes or outdoor scenes. He used colored pencils to depict scenes of circuses and cabarets.
- Paul Gauguin: A precursor of modern art, Gauguin used flat colors arbitrarily, emphasizing their decorative and symbolic value. He employed unusual framing. From 1891, his themes were drawn from Tahiti and the Dominican Republic, as he believed that primitive purity was not to be found in Europe.
- Vincent van Gogh: His passion for Impressionism led him to Arles in 1888, where he hoped to find the light. His mental health struggles influenced his painting style, characterized by sinuous brushstrokes and the application of violent colors, making him an immediate antecedent of Expressionism. His works include The Potato Eaters, The Starry Night, and The Yellow House.
- Paul Cézanne: He sought to reduce reality to its essential forms – “the cylinder, the cone, and the sphere.” His work is divided into series (The Card Players, The Bathers), including landscapes featuring Mont Sainte-Victoire. He embarked on a process of simplification and synthesis of reality, as well as an analytical operation, dissolving volume through highlights. These experiments would later influence Cubism.