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Lauren Hulmes

Professor Lori Bedell

CAS 137H

27 November 2017

Impressionism: Traditional to Modern

Fleeting brush strokes, vibrant colors, and an open composition, impressionism relied

more on sense perception than objective realism. “Art-lovers have known for the last hundred

years that ‘impressions’ were created by artists called Impressionists. Today, these works are

held in very high regard: they fetch extraordinary prices at auction and enjoy massive popular

attendance at blockbuster exhibitions” (Brettell 15). However, Impressionist paintings have not

always been viewed favorably. In fact, the Impressionists owe their current popularity to the

persistent shroud of criticism surrounding their ideologies and aesthetic techniques during the

mid-nineteenth century (Brettell 15). Developed in Paris in the 1860s, at a time when objective

realism was prized, Impressionism was distinctly modern and, as a result, faced intense criticism.

It was agreed by critics and the public alike that Impressionists were radical, unconventional, and

untalented, their techniques unacademic and their compositions sloppy (impressionism.org).

However, the Industrial Revolution resulted in the development of individuality in terms of

painting and scientific discoveries resulted in an exploration of color and technique. This change

in style and presentation, while aggressively criticized in its infancy, slowly spread through

Europe and even to the United States, resulting in a movement that would revolutionize modern

art. The Impressionist movement of the 1860s and 1870s marked a historic break from the

timeless and nostalgic idealizations of nature, history, and religion of traditional European

painting by incorporating new scientific research, politics, and aesthetics into the psychology
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of light and color perception to achieve the unconventional representation of the simple beauty

of daily life; transforming the definition of realism into subjective realism and introducing the

subjectivity of modern art.

Following the Revolutions of 1848, and as Emperor Napoleon III began the task of

rebuilding Paris, the historic Académie des Beaux-Arts dominated the Parisian style of art. In

order to regulate the style of French painting, the Academy established a hierarchy of genres. At

the top of the artistic hierarchy, at least in theory, was la grande peinture or la peinture

d’histoire--large-scale academic paintings of heroic, historical, religious, or mythological

themes--which was regarded as having an elevated moral purpose. Works of this type also served

a conservative political end and were encouraged by the state (Cogeval, Guégan, Thomine-

Berrada 26). Anything outside of what was considered elevated subject matter was still

considered to be a part of the hierarchy, however, such paintings were often referred to as the

“secondary arts”. The secondary arts consisted of portraiture, landscape, and still-life. A common

theme among all Académie paintings was the regulation of theme and genre, as well as the

approach of executing a painting. “Colors were often muted and somber, and brush strokes were

suppressed, concealing the artist’s personality, emotions, and working techniques”

(newworldencyclopedia.org).

The only way to solidify the already conservative and unchanging set of aesthetics, was

through the prestigious annual/biannual Salon exhibition. Thousands of submissions would be

placed in front of a jury consisting of Académie masters, and few would be given the honor of

being chosen to present their artwork to the public. Aside from singling out distinguished

individual masters or trying to find younger artists to praise or disparage, the easiest approach to

dealing with the immense array of artworks on view was to divide them into categories by
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subject. This reflected the long-established hierarchy in the art of painting, which favored figural

subjects and idealizations of the human form (Cogeval, Guégan, Thomine-Berrada 26).

However, during the nineteenth century, categories began to overlap and, due to the Industrial

Revolution, the growth of the bourgeoisie replaced the state, the church, and the nobility,

challenging the rigidity of the system.

Not only did the growth of the bourgeoisie result in a shift of patronage, it also allowed

other art forms to flourish. The Industrial Revolution resulted in an increase in free time for

workers, as well as a rapidly changing infrastructure. Cafés, restaurants, and theaters lured the

bourgeoisie and artists sought to capture the hustle and bustle of everyday modern life.

Furthermore, the revolution fostered individuality and a person’s potential. These changes made

artists question the relevance of serious moral subjects and painting in the classical style as the

foundation of their works and whether they should embrace the modern world or continue to

paint moral subjects in the classical style (khanacademy.org). Famous romantic and classical

painters, such as Eugène Delacroix began to develop painting techniques such as, the use of a

warmer, brighter color palette and ardent, visible brushstrokes (impressionism.org). In fact,

Delacroix’s ideas about color theory and painting techniques proved to be encouragement for

future Impressionists (impressionism.org). Furthermore, Edouard Manet and Claude Monet,

were critical, influential Parisian painters during the emergence of the Impressionist movement

in the 1860s (Champa 1). “Their separate works, while differing in many essentials, established

the composite foundation for much of what we know as modern painting” (Champa 1).

“I paint what I see, and not what others choose to see.” was Edouard Manet’s response to

the academic doctrine (Walther 39). Both Manet and Monet, while classically trained, felt it was

their duty to capture the evolving infrastructure of Paris with honesty and integrity (Walther 38).
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In order to do so, the locations of modern life were depicted, and with the development of the

color theory, camera, Freud’s theory of human consciousness, and the theory of psychological

perception of experience, the style of painting presented by Manet, Monet, and their followers,

quickly became the antithesis of academic painting in Paris (Grimme 11) .

The Impressionist vocabulary includes, without a doubt the direct, living “impression” of

a moment, which is often reproduced in what seems a chance detail of the total event (Grimme

11). With the invention of the camera in previous decades, artists such as Monet, Degas, and

Pissarro were inspired by slow shutter speed and sought to study the movement and gestures and

sense of real-life spontaneity, experiment with candid grouping, off-center focus, and deep

perspective in their own paintings. Learning from the science of photography, artists developed a

range of new painting techniques. For example, their works featured crooked, blurred subjects

inspired by the compositions sometimes caught on camera (impressionism.org). Furthermore,

Impressionists adopted an odd, unconventional approach to subject placement by producing off-

center figures and actions, leaving the center of the composition open, creating a spontaneous

feel to their paintings, which were uncommon in traditional academic

paintings (impressionism.org). The invention and popularity of photography freed painters from

traditional studio art and changed the way they saw the world.

Photography inspired artists to include an aspect of spontaneity and artists also saw this

as an opportunity to explore new scientific and psychological discoveries into their paintings in

order to capture their surroundings with honesty. The development of the technique en plein aire

meant that artists began to take their canvases outside and paint what they saw rather than

romanticising imaginary mythological, historical, and religious scenes under the artificial light of

the Academy studios (Cogeval, Guégan, Thomine-Berrada 27). The attractive locations of
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modern life, such as picnics in the country, family gatherings at the sea, and casual lunches at

cafes were depicted in modern, unusual ways for the time (Walther 101) . “To paint in an

Impressionist way meant representing a seen given reality as it appeared to the eye and

Impressionists viewed the world exclusively through their own eyes as painters” (Walther 101).

Artists relied more on their own sensory perception of the world in order to convey not just a

philosophical message, but an atmosphere of emotion (newworldencyclopedia.org). Therefore,

paintings at the beginnings of and throughout the impressionist movement were direct results of

the artist's emotional perception of a specific moment in time.

In order to capture a moment with integrity, Impressionist painters relied heavily on the

advances of the color theory. For example, Impressionists used the color theory as a guide to mix

brighter, more saturated colors (Albala, “Landscape Theory”). They understood and were able to

control the values of different colors, and became masters of avoiding colors whose values were

neither too light nor too dark to reveal truthful intrinsic hues (Albala, “Landscape Theory”).

Artists were able to add multiple layers of color with short thick strokes, which more often than

not, rarely overlapped one another. They realized that thick, short, and adjacent additions of

bright, unmixed colors can impact how the composition is perceived by onlookers (Walther 101,

102). Experiments aimed at a new way of seeing struck them as relevant, a vital legitimation of

artistic endeavour; and for this reason they occasionally declared that is was of no importance

what subjects happened to be painted (Walther 102).

Contradicting the rigid foundation of traditional academic painting, the works of the

Impressionists was filled with spontaneous, intermingling colors, and seemingly “unfinished”

compositions, as though they had been done in a few minutes and had not progressed beyond the

preliminary stage (Grimme 12). This style of painting resulted in overwhelming criticism not
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only from enemies of Impressionism but also from contemporaries of Impressionists themselves.

Impressionists were continually rejected from the Salon year after year for their unconventional

style of painting. For example, in 1863 more than half of all submissions to the Salon were

denied, including Éduoard Manet’s own The Luncheon on the Grass due to its casual portrayal of

a naked woman outside of a historical, mythological, or religious setting. Critics viewed the

enterprise of the Impression as morally and politically subversive, because the paintings looked

sloppy and unfinished (Brettell 16). Furthermore, the greatest struggle for artists was to get their

work seen by the public (Cogeval, Guégan, Thomine-Berrada 33). Therefore, artists often had to

attempt to go outside the established Salon system for recognition from the public (Cogeval,

Guégan, Thomine-Berrada 33).

Due to the mass rejection of submissions to the Salon in 1863, Emperor Napoleon III

declared that the rejected works be presented to the public eye, therefore, the Salon des Refusés

was formed and open to those refused by the Salon (Brettell & Cogeval, Guégan, Thomine-

Berrada). Among the exhibitors was Cezanne, Pissarro, Guillaumin, and Manet’s scandalous The

Luncheon on the Grass. The purpose of the Salon des Refusés was to let the public judge “the

legitimacy of these complaints.” Drawing massive crowds, mostly to ridicule the works, the

Salon des Refuses was of great significance of undermining the prestige of the official Salon

(Rosenblum 281). Impressionists began to not only attempt to host their own independent

exhibitions, but also to request a new Salon. While both attempts were denied in both 1867 and

1872, Impressionism began to gain momentum and the attention of the public eye.

At the end of December 1873, Monet, Renoir, Sisley, Degas, Morisot, Pissarro, Beliard,

Lepic, Levert, Rouart, and Guillaumin formed the Société anonyme des artistes, peintres,

sculpteures, graveures, etc (Grimme 8). This company provided the organizational framework
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for the eight exhibitions which were held between 1874 and 1886. Thirty-one artists exhibited,

and the catalogue ran to 165 entries (Walther 142). The show was well attended, by about 3,500

people in all, and earned a slight profit (Walther 142). Despite varying approaches to painting,

the independent artists appeared to be a group of contemporaries (Samu). Conservative critics

slammed the works of the the anonyme, once again, they claimed the compositions were

unconventional and “unfinished”. Progressive critics, however, praised the works for their

depiction of modern life (Samu) . Furthermore, despite the Société anonyme avoided showcasing

under a collective name that suggested a movement, a critic by the name of Louis Leroy would

coin the term “Impressionism”, which would result in the official formation of the term

Impressionist Movement (Samu). After given an established name and as the Sociéte hosted

more and more exhibitions, “the seemingly casual style became widely accepted, even in the

Salon, as the new language with which to depict modern life”, resulting in the popularization of

Impressionist art and the progression of the conservative style in not only France, but around the

world.

The Impressionist movement not only had an impact on French art but spread to

literature, music, and art all over the world. Writers such as Henry James, Kate Chopin, and

Stephen Crane incorporated Impressionist styles into their works by using narrative styles with

ambiguous meanings and an emotional landscape in which reality is blurred by choosing points

of view that lie outside the norm. The result of employing impressionism in a work of fiction

varies, however, by undermining the notion of a single authoritative reality, the subjectivity and

potential inaccuracies or perception are reinforced (Lynch, Froiland, Lynch Jr. 504-508). For

example, French composer Claude Debussy included static harmonies with an emphasis on

resonance and tones that created a “shimmering interplay of colors and melodies that lack
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directed motion” (britannica.com). The art world of Paris in the mid-nineteenth century was a

passionate community in which artists, musicians, and writers alike shared their ideas with one

another, thus this was a moment developed simultaneously and artists in various media

established new relationships (Lynch, Froiland, Lynch Jr. 504-508). However, one of the most

important and influential impacts of the Impressionist movement was its emphasis on a human’s

ability perceive the world and truth. The emphasis shifted to the human action of perception

itself, its mechanisms and motives, and away from preconceived ideas of what was worth

perceiving.

With fleeting brush strokes, vibrant colors, and an open composition, Impressionism was

a “radical departure from tradition”; and this departure has changed the way people view modern

art today (impressionism.org). Beginning at a time when art was strictly regulated,

Impressionism was frowned upon by the Académie des Beaux-Arts and vehemently rejected by

the Salon (impressionism.org). However, after the movement artists were liberated from this

strict regulation of creativity and ingenuity, formulating compositions that relied more on the

human experience of sensory perception than objective realism. As of today, no other pictorial

advance of the time had, and continues to have, the profound influence on both contemporary art

and public opinion worldwide (Brettell 18). While the varying accounts of the movement can

make Impressionism hard to define, it is universally known that Impressionism was a movement

of modernity, and it was this movement of modernity that became the catalyst for modern art as

it is known today.
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Works Cited

Rosenblum, Robert. and H.W. Janson. 19th-Century Art. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.,

1984. p. 281

Samu, Author: Margaret. “Impressionism: Art and Modernity | Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art

History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art.” The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History,

www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/imml/hd_imml.htm.

Lynch, Sonja Froiland, and Robert Lee Lynch, Jr. "Impressionism." American History Through

Literature 1870-1920, edited by Tom Quirk and Gary Scharnhorst, vol. 2, Charles Scribner's

Sons, 2006, pp. 504-508.

The World of Impressionists. www.impressionism.org/cafe.htm.

Feist, Peter H., et al. Impressionist Art, 1860-1920. Taschen, 2016.

Grimme, Karin H., and Norbert Wolf. Impressionism. Taschen, 2007.

Guégan, Stéphane, et al. Birth of Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Musée D'Orsay. Prestel,

2010.

Brettell, Richard R. Impressions: Peindre Dans L'instant: Les Impressionistes En France 1860-

1890 ; Hazan, 2000.

“French Impressionists Timeline.” National Museums Liverpool,

www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/ladylever/exhibitions/impressionists/timeline.aspx.

blog.mitchalbala.com/the-affect-of-value-on-color-identity-in-impressionist-painting/.
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“Impressionism.” Impressionism, MediaWiki, 8 Apr. 2014,

www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Impressionism.

“Impressionism.” Impressionism - New World Encyclopedia,

www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Impressionism.

Champa, Kermit Swiler. Studies in Early Impressionism. Yale University Press, 1973.

www.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-modern/avant-garde-france/impressionism/a/a-
beginners-guide-to-impressionism.