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Visual Atrs &
Aesthetics
BArch S1-S2
Module -1
Isms/movements
Nehru College of Architecture
2. Impressionism (1865–1885)
Impressionism emerged in the late 19thcentury as a revolutionary art movementprimarily in
France. It sought to capturefleeting moments and the essence of ascene rather than precise
details.
A style of painting associated mainly with French artists of the late nineteenth century, such as Edgar
Degas, Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, and Pierre Auguste Renoir. Impressionist painting seeks to re-
create the artist’s or viewer’s general impression of a scene.
Impressionism was a radical art movement that began in the late 1800s, centred primarily on Parisian
painters. Impressionists rebelled against classical subject matter and embraced modernity, desiring to
create works that reflected the world in which they lived.
When the Impressionists began painting, Ideals of art were not only controlled, but also looked
down upon and rejected by academic institutions such as the French academy of fine arts and the
Salon, which had great power over the careers of artists.
Renoir . La Grenouillère is an 1869 oil on canvas. Edgar Degas :The Dance Lesson 1879
Haystack series, 1890-91Wheat-stacks (End of Summer)" 1890-1891] by Claude Monet.
Claude monet’s goal was not to paint a simple image of a stack of hay, but rather to show the color and
form of the haystacks at a particular time of day at the end of the summer.
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C ha ra cte r is t i cs .
1. small, thin, yet visible broken brush strokes and thick paint
(impasto)
2. Emphasis on changing light- one painting might show
multiple angles and brightness of sunlight .
3. Capturing everyday life, ordinary subject matter, and the
outdoors .
4. Sense of movement.
5. No mixed colours- colours were mixed on the canvas making
them more vibrant (colours fresh from the new tin tubes
unmixed on the palette and laid directly on the canvas.) The
optical mixing of colours occurs in the eye of the viewer. Claude Monet, “Impression Sunrise,”
6. No black or pure white- all light and shadows are made up 1872. Often referred to as the “Father
of colours. Grays and dark tones are produced by mixing of Impressionism,” Monet exhibited
complementary colours. In pure Impressionism the use of Impression Sunrise in the first Exhibition
black paint is avoided. of the Impressionists, dabbling in oil
7. Impressionists loved to play with lights and shadows. Many paints and painting outdoors.
employed a combination of striking, solid lines with visible
KE Y T E RM S
soft lines. The play of natural light is emphasized. Close
Impasto:
attention is paid to the reflection of colours from object to
object.
8. Introduced a method of completing the works directly in
the open air.
Post Impressionism (c.1885-1905)
Post Impressionism was not a particular style of painting.
It was the collective title given to the works of a few independent artists at the end of the 19th century.
The Post Impressionists rebelled against the limitations of Impressionism to develop a range of personal
styles that influenced the development of art in the 20th century.
The major artists associated with Post Impressionism were Paul Cezanne, Paul Gauguin, Vincent Van
Gogh and Georges Seurat.
Paul Cezanne, Mont Gauguin's
Sainte-Victoire Seen synthetic
from the Bibemus symbolism
is The
Quarry, c.1897
Yellow
Cezanne was an Christ. 1889
important influence on
Picasso and Braque in
their development of
Cubism.
Van Gogh’s vigorous and vibrant
painting technique was one of the The yellow of Christ’s flesh and the blue
touchstones of both Fauvism and outlining of his body create a decorative
Expressionism. pattern somewhat evocative of a
stained glass window in a medieval
Cafe Terrace at Night, church.
1888
Inspiration to ‘Les Fauves’. (Favism)
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Characteristics of the movement.
1 . Interested in building the shapes, drawings expression of objects and
human images.
2 . Conception of the painting as a combination of geometrical elements.
(cezanne)
3 . Use of pure color with emotions and Curvy brush stroke to express
depression or emotional feelings. (vangough)
4 . Painted law class life and entertainment. (Gaugin)
5 . Various individualized styles. (Generally two)
a) Structured, or geometric style that was the precursor to Cubism.
b) On the other side was the expressive or non-geometric art that led to
Abstract Expressionism.
‘A Sunday Afternoon ,1884 Paul Cezanne, French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work
(oil on canvas) Georges laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception
Seurat’s pointillist of artistic Endeavour to a new and radically different world of art in the
technique. Inspired 20th century.
Favism
Neo-Impressionism
Pointillism was the most influential style of Post-Impressionist painting and was practised by the painters
from a number of different schools.
Pointilism.
Describes a technique of Neo-Impressionism painting, in which hundreds of small dots or dashes of
pure colour are applied to the canvas in order to create maximum luminosity.
small dots of pure unmixed colour directly onto the picture .
viewer to mix the colours optically.
