Why That Famous Stuff Is Famous Part 2: Impressionism

French Impressionist Art is incredibly popular. Most people would recognize it the minute they walked into a gallery or a museum. The problem I’m going to have here is that while it is popular, it is also very diverse. Hopefully though, I can provide a basic idea of what it was, why it was so influential and why it continues to be a huge favorite.

In France in the 1870s, there was one right way to make Art and one right place to exhibit. The subject matter was limited and there were many many rules. There was a proper and traditional way to portray a nude or a story from mythology and a proper technical method in carrying it all out. In the end, if you made a piece of Art and you wanted to show it, you had to submit it to the government (aka Napoleon) sponsored Salons and hope it didn’t get rejected.

In 1874, a group of people, fed up with the regulations and rejection, rented out a hall and displayed their work themselves. This was the beginning of the Impressionists.

Impressionism is all about the eye and the way light and color interact with it. A true Impressionist artist painted outside often, focused on landscapes, light and color, and never used black paint. Impressionist paintings also usually don’t have much deep meaning because it places the highest importance on the beauty of it.  However, there is so much diversity within the movement that these rules were sometimes broken.

French Impressionism produced several important artists, each making their own individual mark. The most recognizable of them all was Claude Monet.

Monet was probably the most true to the artistic ideals of Impressionism. After all, the term “Impressionists” was coined from the title of one of his paintings. (The painting I’ve chosen for this post.) By focusing on the interaction of light and color, Monet’s work is what really ended up defining the style most associated with this movement. He never used black, he painted en plain air (which just means outside) and he focused on landscape and scenery rather than people. Thanks to the recent invention of paint in tubes, it was easy for the Impressionists to get outside and paint from life, and Monet took full advantage. He often painted multiple versions of the same scene at different times of day or different times of the year to show the changes in lighting.

Édouard Manet, on the other hand, broke all the rules of Impressionism. His paintings focused primarily on people. His work used black paint heavily. His subject matter was mostly religious or made strong social statements. Despite the fact that Manet’s style leaned toward realism, it had a gestural quality to it. (By gestural, I mean it almost looks like a sketch, kinda scribbly.) Most people at the Salons would have probably considered his work unfinished. In his more socially charged work, he confronted the viewer with the steady unashamed gazes of confident looking women rather than the demure modesty that was more traditionally displayed. To us, Manet’s work doesn’t seem like it would be a big deal, but at that time these paintings were positively offensive. Still, despite the differences Manet exhibited with the Impressionists several times, and even started painting more outdoors after getting some encouragement from his sister-in-law and fellow Impressionist Berthe Morisot.

So why it’s famous… in my opinion, it’s a little bit about subversive rebellion and a lot about looks. No matter what the style, this stuff is just downright nice to look at. These artists made a point of using pleasing color combinations and the strategic use of light. It was all about beauty, and that’s exactly why it’s famous.

(Image is “Impression, Soleil Levant”, painted by Claude Monet in 1872)

Why That Famous Stuff Is Famous Part 1: The Mona Lisa

The Mona Lisa is the most well known piece of Art in the world. Many people that have had the chance to see it in person find themselves wondering what all the fuss is about. Usually when I ask what they thought their reply goes something like “It was a lot smaller than I thought…” followed by various grumblings about the cost of the Louvre, the many many tourists blocking their view and their opinion that her smile isn’t really that mysterious at all.

So let’s start with the basic stats. The Mona Lisa is 30.25 inches tall and 21 inches wide. It’s painted with oil paint on a wood panel (poplar, if that kind of thing interests you). It was painted sometime between 1503 and 1506. In other words, IT’S REALLY OLD. It is on display at the Louvre in Paris in a humidity controlled case to prevent warping and behind bullet proof glass, National Treasure style.

But wait, there’s more! Part of the reason this painting is so famous (despite it’s small size) is because it was painted by Leonardo da Vinci. Even during his lifetime da Vinci was a famous artist and these days you’d be hard pressed to find someone that hasn’t heard of him. (Thank you Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.) Not only that, but this painting was basically the first of its kind a lot of ways. It’s a portrait that shows more than half of her body, not just her head and shoulders. The background was not set in a studio, but instead is made up of a wild and hazy imaginary landscape. Da Vinci also developed something new in this painting which is called sfumato. This is a fancy Italian word arty people use to say it makes things blend, making her face look more realistic and the background look kinda far away. As far as innovation, this small portrait was kind of a big deal.

But much more mysterious and interesting than all of that is not knowing who in the world she actually was. The most common belief is that she was Lisa Gherardini (some rich merchant’s wife), but there is no definitive proof. The painting itself doesn’t give many clues either. She’s not wearing any jewelry or holding anything that might indicate her social status. What’s more, whoever commissioned this painting never got it. Da Vinci kept it himself until he died.

Those are some things that made it well known, but what could have made it FAMOUS? The answer is simple. Scandal. In 1911 the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre. The museum shut down for an entire week in an attempt to investigate, plastering pictures of the painting all over Paris. Having no luck, the museum reopened only to find that scads of people were lining up to see the empty space on the wall. Two years later, the painting turned back up when the thief, a former museum employee (who had simply walked out with the Mona Lisa under his coat after closing time) tried to sell the painting to a gallery in Italy. By that point, the Mona Lisa had become an icon, the veritable poster child for Art itself. Other artists like Dali and Warhol have even used the image over and over for their own purposes.

So the moral of this story is, if you’re an artist and you want to get famous… like REALLY famous… get yourself a show and then get some disgruntled employee to steal your work for a year or two. Hopefully by the time it turns back up, people will be so familiar with it that the rest will just fall into place.

“Mona Lisa, by Leonardo da Vinci, from C2RMF retouched” by Leonardo da Vinci. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mona_Lisa,_by_Leonardo_da_Vinci,_from_C2RMF_retouched.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Mona_Lisa,_by_Leonardo_da_Vinci,_from_C2RMF_retouched.jpg

Enjoying Art You Don’t Understand

I cannot even begin to count the number of times I’ve had friends and acquaintances question me about Art, using phrases like “what does that mean?” “what is that supposed to be?” and probably most often “I just don’t get it”. This generally corresponds to some ancient, abstract or avant garde piece of Art they saw on a school trip to a museum. Becoming frustrated by some Greek urn or a piece of string hanging from the ceiling, they simply throw up their hands in defeat, determining that this must mean that they just don’t like Art and therefore have no need of things like museums and galleries. And really, they think to themselves, what does it matter? It’s not like I’m missing out on anything.

As for me, I’ve always loved Art. It doesn’t much matter what kind or what era. I can spend hours wandering through museums. When faced with these kinds of comments from friends that are less artistically inclined, I have one response. Does it really matter?

Don’t get me wrong, fellow Art lovers, the more information you have about a piece of Art and the artist that made it, the more you can learn from it. But learning about Art is not a prerequisite for enjoying it.

Think of it this way. Looking at a piece of Art is like having a conversation. You may have an argument with it. You may find that you have loads in common. You may be bored to tears. Don’t feel like you need to rationalize any of the things you feel about it. Just feel them. Like it or don’t. Don’t worry so much about what it means, just determine what it means to you and be done with it.

There doesn’t need to be so much pressure surrounding this Art culture. Take the museums back from the snobs and the academics. Take a piece for yourself and own it.

(Image contains Neuron by Roxie Paine and Scarlatti by Mark di Suvero, both on display at Frederick Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan.)