Tuesday, September 21
• Working with a partner, view “About
Impressionism” power point and
answer questions
– You can access the power point through
the Art Appreciation homepage
• Intro to Impressionism notes and
power point
• Finishing Mona Lisa and Greek
Vases during remaining time
•Impressionists were
fascinated with the effect of
light on color
•Goal: create a quick, light
filled, impression of what
was in front of them
“Landscape is nothing but an impression, and an instantaneous one, hence
this label that was given us, by the way because of me. I had sent a thing done
in Le Havre, from my window, sun in the mist and a few masts of boats sticking
up in the foreground....They asked me for a title for the catalogue, it couldn't
really be taken for a view of Le Havre, and I said: 'Put Impression.‘ -Monet
“Impression — I was certain of it. I
was just telling myself that,
since I was impressed, there had to be
some impression in it …
and what freedom, what ease of
workmanship! Wallpaper in its
embryonic state is more finished than
that seascape.”
–Louis Leroy
Impression Sunrise, 1882
•Used short strokes of
brilliant color
•Painted the colors of
objects as they appeared at
a specific time of day and
season of the year
•Impressionists make
light and color
their subject matter
Claude
Monet
• Painted solid colors
onto the canvas
using short strokes
(broken color)
• He let the viewer’s
eye blend them
from a distance
– (optical color
mixing)
• Loved to work
outdoors
• The more Monet
painted outdoors,
the more he
realized that colors
were constantly
changing with the
moving of the sun
or the interruption
of clouds or haze
• To analyze these
changes, he decided to
paint a single subject
at different times of
day, at different times
of year, under different
light
• Rouen Cathedral : massive surface of carved stone
• You no longer see the carving but the light and color
reflected from different surfaces
• Monet recorded this subject more than thirty times
What did Monet discover from painting the same
subject over and over again, at different times of
year and under different light?
•Color is affected by
the changes in light
Edgar Degas
• Created
sketches and
went back to his
studio to create
paintings from
the sketches
• Favorite
subject: The
Ballet
• Liked to paint in series
–Explored the subject of the ballet over
and over again
• Views are often from
strange vantage points
• 1st artist to exhibit
pastels as finished works
instead of preliminary sketches
Edgar Degas, The Rehearsal on the Stage, 1874
• Often groups figures or objects to one side
creating asymmetrical balance
Edgar Degas, Ballet Rehearsal, 1876
Mary Cassatt
• Influenced by
Degas
• Mothers and
children were her
favorite subject
Mary Cassatt,
The Bath, 1892