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)