Art History II- Impressionism and Post Impressionism movements
Impressionism: Neutrals
A color that has been grayed or reduced in intensity by being mixed with any other neutral or a compliment
Impressionism: Shades
Base color plus black
Impressionism: Vocab- Tints
Base color plus white
Post impressionism: Cool Colors
Blue, green, purple
Post impressionism: Why does Cezanne shift the perspective of the table in "Still Life with Apples?"
Cezanne shifts the perspective of the table to affect the movement of the piece. He uses an oblique angle, slanted hatch lines, and contour lines intentionally to create a sense of gravity. Cezanne does this not because he doesn't know how to make the apples look flatter, but to add to the effect of the slanted table.
Impressionism: Describe five Impressionist formal qualities of Renoir's, "Moulin de la Galette."
Five impressionist formal qualities of Renoir's, "Moulin de la Galette" are the changes of the natural light and streetlights, and their reflection within the painting, the brushstrokes are loose and thick, the oblique angle (higher up looking down), and it is very influenced by photography (the picture just cuts off like a snapshot), and lots of pastel colors.
Impressionism: What types of subject matter are found in French Impressionist paintings?
It is referred to as the "slice of life". Scenes of everyday life (genre scenes), leisure activities, entertainment, landscape, water and reflective surfaces like mirrors and streetlamps were the subject matter of Impressionist paintings. Unlike Realism, the subject matter of Impressionism includes industrial scenes of canals, factories, smoking chimneys and railway stations.
Impressionism: What effect did the invention of photography have on Impressionism?
The new developments in photography inspired the artists to create something new because they didn't have to reproduce reality.
Impressionism: What was the French public's initial reaction to Impressionism?
Impressionist works were initially rejected by the School of the Beaux Arts, the Paris Salon, and French Public.
Impressionism: The French Salon
The place where artists gathered annually to display art from the School of Beaux Art.
Impressionism: The School of Beaux Arts (The French Academy)
The school where all of these artists were trained.
Impressionism: Intermediate color
mixing primary and secondary colors to produce a new color
Impressionism: Local color
the color as seen in the objective world. (Grass is green, the sky is blue)
Impressionism: Hue
the common name of a color
Post impressionism: Background
"Post-Impressionism" means "after Impressionism;" it is a grouping of artists of diverse styles who were influenced by Impressionism including bright colors and visible, distinct brushstrokes. Clear edges and contour lines outline the Post-Impressionist forms unlike the diffuse edges of Impressionism. In Cezanne and Seurat's painting, formal and structural concerns are most important, whereas in Van Gogh and Gauguin's work emotional content is the main theme. In Post Impressionist painting contains bold use of color, strong visible, often unblended brushstrokes, and strong focus on the inner self.
Post impressionism: Formal Qualities
-Loose, often unblended paint with visible, distinct, brush strokes -Use of stippling and Pointillism with complimentary colors (Seurat) -Strong use of structure so that paint is built up like bricks (Cezanne) -Vibrant use of intense color, especially primary colors (red, yellow, blue) and complimentary colors (opposites on the color wheel) -Flattening of picture plane through strong contour line (outline) and use of strong silhouettes from Japanese prints -Scenes can be framed into oblique (extreme) views and perspective is altered
Impressionism: Formal qualities
-concern with the natural properties of light, studied changes in light, reflections, weather conditions, times of day and seasons, studied effects of indoor lighting, including theater and café lighting -influenced by Japanese prints, flatness, contour line (outline) and pattern - loose brush strokes, paint strokes are visible -oblique angles, slanted viewpoints -influenced by photography, paintings are composed like a snapshot -strong patterns of lights and darks -emphasis on color -soft pastel colors; pastel colors (tints) have white added to the base color to soften it
Impressionism: Degas, Dancing Lesson
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Post impressionism: Cezanne, Mont Sainte-Victoire
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Post impressionism: Describe how Cezanne's, "Still Life with Apples" fits into the Post-Impressionist period. How does Cezanne use abstraction in this painting?
Cezanne's, "Still Life with Apples" fits into the Post- Impressionist period because of the hatching, loose, visible, distinct brush strokes, flattening of the picture through contour lines, clear edges, formal and structural concern, oblique angles, and vibrant use of intense color (warm and cool toned to show dimension) as well as analogous colors), all seen during Post Impressionism. Photography is also seen as a major influence, as it looks like a snapshot. Cezanne uses abstraction in the apples and how they look like they are falling with gravity, they have a sense of movement to them, intended by the artist, and this demonstrates a more artistic approach to the still life.
Impressionism: Analogous Color
Colors that are next to each other on the color wheel
Post impressionism: Subject matter/ Symbolism
Continuation of scenes from the outdoors as well as indoor scenes of leisure including dance halls, night clubs and cafes. Re-examination of paintings from previous times giving them new meaning through structure and spatial construction (Cezanne) Van Gogh and Gauguin use intense emotional content, intense color and vivid brushstrokes, strong use of symbolism and focus on inner self influence and idealization of distant lands including Oceania, (Gauguin) and Japan Continuing influence of Photography and oblique angles
Post impressionism: Vocab- Stippling
Dots which are placed next to one another to form a pattern.
Impressionism: What were five new social or technological developments during Impressionism?
Five new social and technological developments during impressionism were new bridges and lamp lighting, new public parks and organized city planning, wide boulevards replaced narrow streets, clean water supply started to eliminate diseases like Cholera, and Paris is modernized with new housing. Changes were also made by Napoleon III, in the hopes of preventing uprisings in the second empire.
Post impressionism: Describe the symbolism of Gauguin's, "Nevermore." What literary work is it based on?
Gauguin's, "Nevermore" compositionally is influenced by Titan's, "Venus of Urbino", Giorgione's, "Sleeping Venus", and Manet's "Olympia". It is literately influence by Poe's The Raven, and symbolizes themes of dreams, myth, and literature. The raven is seen in the painting itself.
Post impressionism: Describe the symbolism of Gauguin's, "Self Portrait with a Halo."
Gauguin's, "Self Portrait with a Halo" has a symbolic idea of good vs evil, which he was obsessed with. This is a self-portrait of Gauguin, and we see his face, but in the foreground the plant or serpent like figure paired with the apples in the background gives us an idea of the Garden of Eden and fall of man. Furthermore, the halo above his head signifies Christianity. Human sin is the subject matter of the painting. The sinister expression on Gauguin's face exemplifies his own divided self and temptation.
Post impressionism: Hatching
Hatching lines are placed parallel to one another causing a pattern to emerge.
Impressionism: Monochromatic
Having only one hue; the complete value range of one color from light to dark. For example, a monochromatic palate could include colors from light pink (tints) to dark red (shades)
Impressionism: Describe how Morisot's, "Cradle," fits into the Impressionist movement. Describe why domestic scenes of women and children are now new subject matter for Impressionism.
Morisot's, "Cradle", fits into the Impressionist movement because it portrays an everyday moment in the life of a mother and her child. There is a use of pastels, dramatic light, and rectangular composition accentuated by the diagonal curtain and curve of the bassinette. Women and children are now new subject matter for Impressionism, unlike in previous movements, because there is a focus on leisure activities and painting everyday scenes, including scenes of family and children (in the past weren't deemed important enough to be the subject matter of paintings).
Post impressionism: What is Pointillism? Why did Seurat use this technique?
Pointillism is term used to describe building up color through dots or points of pure color. Seurat believed that placing two colors next to one another intensified the hues (colors) of each. He believed that the eye would mix the two colors together. For example, a blue dot next to a yellow dot would cause the eye to merge the dots into green.
Post impressionism: vocab continued- Pointillism
Pointillism is term used to describe building up color through dots or points of pure color. Seurat believed that placing two colors next to one another intensified the hues (colors) of each. He believed that the eye would mix the two colors together. For example, a blue dot next to a yellow dot would cause the eye to merge the dots into green.
Post impressionism: Warm Colors
Red, yellow, orange
Impressionism: Describe the Impressionist formal qualities of Monet's, "Water-Lily Pond."
The Impressionist formal qualities of Monet's, "Water-Lily Pond" are the pastel colors, the thickness and looseness of the paint and brush strokes, the nature elements of the natural properties of light, along with the emphasis on color.
Post impressionism: Describe six Post-Impressionist formal qualities of Seurat's, "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte."
The six Post-Impressionist formal qualities of Seurat's, "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte", are Pointillism, stippling, complimentary colors are used, flattening of the picture plane through strong silhouettes, structure, and a vibrant use of intense color.
Impressionism: Subject Matter
The subject matter of this artwork is a-political, unlike Realism, although they observed society and the changes of growing industrialization. Impressionism includes industrial scenes of canals, factories, smoking chimneys and railway stations as well as genre scenes (everyday scenes) of leisure activities, entertainment and landscape to show a "slice of life." There are many scenes of water and reflective surfaces including mirrors and street lamps.
Impressionism: Symbolism
There is a new avant-garde approach to color, form, light, and the texture of paint. Artwork no longer needs to create a photographic likeness of reality due to the invention of photography. Instead, painters are interested in emphasizing the brushstrokes and paint with the goal of creating abstractions of reality. The viewer now starts to notice the artist's technique and the surface of the painting as a part of the visual experience. Artists were from bourgeois (upper class) backgrounds and were interested in the beauty of nature, light, and leisure activities. There is a new interest in painting everyday scenes, including scenes of family and children.
Impressionism: Describe the influence of the Japanese woodblock printing techniques on Cassatt's, "Letter."
There is an influence of limited color in Cassatt's, "Letter", inspired by the limited flat colors of the Japanese woodblock printing techniques. There is a lot of surface designs and patterning, a flattening of the surface and therefore a lack of value, further emphasizing inspiration from woodblock printing techniques.
Impressionism: Complimentary Color
Two colors which are directly opposite on the color wheel
Impressionism: How did Impressionist paintings differ from Realist paintings?
Unlike realism, impressionist artists rarely responded to political events. They generally were from Bourgeois families, and they weren't thinking about the struggle of the worker like the realists were. They were interested in formal qualities and the natural properties of light (changes in light and color caused by weather conditions), which was reflected in their art.
Post impressionism: Describe the subject matter and symbolism of Van Gogh's, "Starry Night." What is Van Gogh trying to express in this painting?
Van Gogh's, "Starry Night" (1889 Oil on Canvas) has a lot of intense emotional expression just like many of his works. He uses intense color and vivid brushstrokes along with a strong use of symbolism and a focus on the inner self. Van Gogh has content and meaning attached to his paintings, unlike the impressionist, light, leisure activities that were often the subject matter at the time. He tends to focus on hardships, such as the Potato Eaters, and focused more on realism and working-class people. His early works really reflect the social consciousness. He is also inspired by Japanese Print (contour lines, outlines, natural scenes, composition). The color choices Van Gogh uses add to the intense emotional and symbolic nature of his work, as in "Potato Eaters" he is not using vivid color, on the contrary, muted dark colors to further intensify the painting and its meaning. In "Starry Night", Van Gogh is trying to express an energetic quality, beauty and light is symbolized in the stars. The painting is focused on line quality with the hatching pattern which creates movement in the painting. The Cyprus tree was really a symbol of hope for him, as it is an old historical biblical symbol representing hope (painted like a flame). The architecture is inspired by his home in Holland, representing his childhood. There are a lot of Analogous and complimentary colors within the composition. It is interesting the context of the painting is that Van Gogh painting this now famous work while voluntarily in a mental asylum one year before his suicide. It very much reflected the psychological nature of his depression. The past, hope, and longing are seen through the piece, which is really what Van Gogh is known for.
Impressionism: Simultaneous Contrast
When two different colors come into direct contact, the contrast intensifies the difference between them
Impressionism: Secondary colors
the mixing of 2 primaries produces a secondary
Impressionism: Intensity
the saturation, strength, or purity of a hue. A vivid color is of high intensity and a dull color is of low intensity
Post impressionism: Post-Impressionists-
use primary colors with high intensity
Post impressionism: Impressionists-
use tints and shades
