Impressionism V. Post-Impressionism

Impressionism Art

Impression Sunrise - Claude Monet

     

The first of four paintings that we will be looking at is titled Impression Sunrise, by Claude Monet, one of the the most famous Impressionism painters from this time. Monet is one of my personal favorite artists, and I absolutely adore this style. Impression Sunrise gives a good idea of what most of Monet’s work is like, so that’s another reason why I choose this painting. This oil on canvas comes in at 48 x 63cm and was first displayed at the Impressionist exhibition in 1874, two years after it was made. Now it resides in Musée Marmottan Monet, in Paris. 

    Taking a closer look at this work, we can see it represents a l lot of the impressionist styles with elements placing less of an emphasis on shape and line, while still holding form. The use of color is what I believe brings all of this piece together, we can see that the sunrise is giving off shadows of the boats hidden in the fog, suggesting shapes to us to give us a better understanding of what’s going on. While the more ‘fitting’ interpretation of this piece is one that highlights the atmosphere and lighting of this port in Monet’s hometown, some believe this to be a painting representing the revitalization of France after defeat of the Franco-Prussian War.

The Ballet Class -Edgar Degas

    The next impressionist work we will be looking at is called The Ballet Class, and is an oil painting done by Edgar Degas. This was painted in 1871-74 and was on a 75 x 85cm canvas. When you look at the impressionist styles, I find the comparaswin between this piece and Impression Sunrise to really provide a good showcase of the diversity of this style. One difference is The Ballet Class doesn’t use shape and line elements the same way, instead of suggesting shapes by using lines and color, this painting clearly shows what’s going on. Something the two have in common is their texture; they really feel like a busy oil painting and if you look closer at it, the brush stokes and techniques make the pieces look more messy/chunky, giving it that signature style.

    Something about this painting that stood out to me was that it showed so much of the floor. At the perspective this painting is done from, we are given a diagonal-like view of the room and the lines on the floor really bring out the depth of the room. The little details are what makes work like this ‘next level’. While the intention of this piece is a bit more direct than the first one we looked at, it still leaves room for interpretations. You can see how exhausted some of the dancers look, and I feel like this pieces could be directly related to underlying hardships people go through, that are overlooked. Degas was a fan of opera and dance, more so, the process that took place prior to the performance. The preparation and hard work that people don’t see was something that interested him. While I like this style, I prefer Monet’s style as finding beauty outside, in that almost hazy style is fascinating to me.

Post-Impression Art

    Shifting from Impressionism to Post-Impression styles we see a lot change. As we know, Post-Impressionism was a reaction to Impressionism and focused more on symbolism and formalities, rather than natural light and colors of Impressionism. 

A Sunny Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte - George Seurat

      The first Post-Impressionism piece we’ll be looking at is A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by George Seurat. This oil painting was made in 1884-86, and is on a 207.6 x 308cm canvas, and is now located at the Art institute of Chicago. Coming specifically from the neoimpressionist movement, we can see a drastic change in style from the paintings above. First off, the textured, oil look of previous works are no more, and the overall tone has changed completely. Even though this painting focuses on a park landscape, it’s much different from the landscapes that we see painted by Monet. This type of landscape has more of a focus on elements like form and space, as the people are the focal point.

    While this may appear on a surface level of people in a park, this newer style is all about symbolism and things aren’t what they seem. I first felt this could have been an artwork about urbanization as the characters are well dressed and don’t seem to be fitting in the ‘nature’ scene, that perhaps the seemingly endless park could be the only source of nature for them. In reality, the people are almost characters, one is the woman on the bank with the fishing pole. At first she seems to be fishing, but this real park was one that often had prostitutes there, and the symbolism of the pole is that she could be ‘fishing’ for work. The closer you look, the more out of place behaviors you will see, such as the woman with a monkey on leash. The symbolism in this piece doesn't only apply to specific things that the artist intended such as the woman with the fishing pole, but it can also apply to things that the viewer can interpret. 

Vision After the Sermon - Paul Gauguin

    The next Post-Impressionism piece is titled Vision After the Sermon, painted by Paul Gauguin in France in 1888 with oil on a canvas. Standing at 72.2 x 91cm, this painting is currently found in the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh. This painting is far different from both the Impressionist and the Post-Impressionist work we have looked at on this blog, with much deeper mystical tones and abstraction. The elements Gauguin used in this piece primarily color, shape, and lines, to give us this unique environment. The colors provide a climate which is confusing and the lines break it apart, while the shape of everything, almost gives me the feeling the painting is moving while I look at it. One thing I find fascinating about this piece is it takes elements used in impressionist art, as Gauguin was an Impressionist painter earlier in his career, and applies them to a new style; you can almost see the inspiration.

    The painting itself is an interpretation of an event taking place from the Bible, where Jacob wrestles an angel. We can see in the left side of the painting, many women dressed similarly are interpreted as church goers who are having this vision Jacob wrestling the angel after their day in church listening to the sermon. The tree not only ask as part of the environment, but separates the women from the vision to give the viewer a better understanding of what's going on. Of the pieces looked at this week in my post, I found this one to be the one I like the least as the whole point of Post-Impressionism work is to bring more symbolism and mystery but this one just feels like it's telling a story and not leaving much room for personal interpretation.

Resources

“Edgar Degas The Ballet Class.” Musée D'Orsay: Edgar Degas The Ballet Class, 25 Mar. 2009, www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/search/commentaire/commentaire_id/the-ballet-class-3098.html. 

“Impression, Sunrise.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Mar. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impression,_Sunrise. 

“Impressionism and Post-Impressionism.” Oxford Art Online, www.oxfordartonline.com/page/impressionism-and-post-impressionism/impressionism-and-postimpressionism. 

“Post-Impressionism - Important Paintings.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/movement/post-impressionism/artworks/#pnt_2. 

“A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Mar. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Sunday_Afternoon_on_the_Island_of_La_Grande_Jatte. 

“Vision After the Sermon.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 21 Jan. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vision_After_the_Sermon#/media/File:Paul_Gauguin_137.jpg.