The rejected
While Courbet and other Realists can be said to have foreshadowed Impressionism, the most obvious start of “modern” painting emerged in Manet’s technique and unusual subject-matter. He met with huge disapproval, but continued producing what he believed in, inspiring other young artists with his controversial approach. In 1863, the Paris Salon—the main way in which artists in France could attain recognition in the official art world—rejected an unprecedented number of works. The rebuffed artists protested vehemently. Rejected paintings had a red “R” stamped on the back for refusé (rejected), which made it difficult to sell these works. Napoleon III intervened and created another exhibition, called the Salon des Refusés, at which all artists who had been rejected could exhibit. Although most of the works were ridiculed by visitors, the exhibition also highlighted how the Salon jury selected only a particular type of painting and it set a powerful precedent for independent or unofficial exhibitions.
Momentary effects
The Impressionists, as they came to be known, rejected the traditionalist rules of academic painting. They were inspired by many artists and styles, including the free brushstrokes and bold colors of Delacroix; the direct observation of Courbet and the Barbizon School; and the changing natural light and atmosphere captured by Constable and Turner. They emphasized overall effects or “impressions” rather than closely rendered details, and focused on the changing qualities of light. Working quickly, applying broken marks of pure, unblended color, the Impressionists achieved immediate and momentary effects as the eye sees them. This was in total contrast to the carefully finished works celebrating history or religious themes that the Académie favored.
The artists included Monet, Degas, Renoir, Morisot, Alfred Sisley (1839–99), Frédéric Bazille (1841–70), Pissarro, Cézanne and Armand Guillaumin (1841–1927). They shared common philosophies about painting, but their styles differed widely. Manet led their discussions when they met at the Café Guerbois on Batignolles Street (today Avenue Clichy) in Paris. He also encouraged them to exhibit their works independently outside the Salon—they organized the Société Anonyme Coopérative des Artistes Peintres, Sculpteurs, Graveurs, holding their first exhibition in 1874 at a photographer’s studio. The ensuing scathing review by Louis Leroy was mockingly called “The Exhibition of the Impressionists.” Yet despite early ridicule, the term Impressionists soon stuck and was even accepted by the artists themselves. From 1874 to 1886, they held eight exhibitions. The Impressionists gradually won a degree of public acceptance and they began changing attitudes about art. Many of the artists, seeking inspiration for their paintings, settled in towns and villages around Paris, where they could capture the transient effects of light.
Contributing factors
Impressionism developed as the culmination of many things. As well as the influence of the diverse styles and approaches of many earlier artists, the contemporary socio-political climate and technological advances, some even more direct developments played a part. These included portable, ready-mixed paints in lead tubes, which contrasted with the powdered pigment they previously had to mix themselves. The newly established medium of photography gave artists fresh ideas about composition and capturing likenesses. Japanese art prints, which had only recently been available in France, also provided ideas about unusual compositions and simplicity.
Impressionism’s demise
Inevitably, however, once Impressionism had been established, younger artists found fault with it. Some criticized the triviality of subject matter; others thought there was a lack of intellectual thought behind the works. Most of these artists simply had new ideas that they wanted to explore. They first became called Post-Impressionists in 1910, after an exhibition of their work was held in London and referred to by the group term of Post-Impressionism. There is no one set style, but it all derives from Impressionism.
timeline
1871
Arrangement in Gray and Black, No 1 or The Artist’s Mother,
Whistler
(1834–1903)
c.1873–76
The Dance Class,
Degas
(1834–1917)
1874
Proserpine,
Rossetti
(1828–82)
1875
The Gross Clinic,
Eakins
(1844–1916)
1876
La Moulin de la Galette,
Renoir
(1841–1919)
1880
The Tea,
Cassatt
(1844–1926)
1880–1917
The Gates of Hell,
Rodin
(1840–1917)
1882
Bar at the Folies-Bergère,
Manet
(1832–83)
1884
Bathers at Asnières,
Seurat
(1859–91)
1888
Sunflowers,
van Gogh
(1853–90)
1890
At the Moulin Rouge: The Dance,
Toulouse-Lautrec
(1864–1901)
1892
The Card Players,
Cézanne
(1839–1906)
1894–95
Guaranty Building,
Sullivan
(1856–1924)
1897
Boulevard Montmartre at Night,
Pissarro
(1830–1903)
1897–98
Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?,
Gauguin
(1848–1903)
1899
The Gulf Stream,
Homer
(1836–1910)
1899
Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies,
Monet
(1840–1926)
PISSARRO
1830-1903 • IMPRESSIONISM
Boulevard Montmartre at Night
1897 OIL ON CANVAS
53.3 × 64.8 CM (21 × 25½ IN)
NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON, UK
Toward the end of his life, Pissarro suffered with eye problems and painted townscapes more than landscapes, mainly from the windows of hotels and apartments. One of several works painted at different times of day and in different weather conditions, this was painted from the Hôtel de Russie on the corner of the Boulevard des Italiens and the Rue Drouot in Paris at night. These views may have been inspired by Monet’s series paintings. The orange-yellow of the streetlights is reflected in the silver and ultramarine of the dark, wet streets.
Often called the “father of Impressionism” because he advised so many younger artists, Jacob-Abraham-Camille Pissarro was the only Impressionist to take part in all eight Impressionist exhibitions. He developed his own style, painting landscapes in the open air, building up forms from dabs and flecks of pure, brilliant color and subtly conveying the innumerable variations of light.
Born in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, Pissarro was sent to a Parisian boarding school at the age of 12. He returned to work in his father’s shop in 1847, but five years later, as his father was set against his artistic ambitions, he ran away to Venezuela to become a painter. In 1855, his father capitulated and Pissarro traveled to Paris where he entered the École des Beaux-Arts and then the Académie Suisse. His masters included Corot, Courbet and Charles-François Daubigny (1817–78) and their encouragement to paint from nature had a profound effect on him. Corot, in particular, advised him to make small sketches working directly in the landscape “to study light and tonal values.” At the Académie Suisse he also met Monet, Cézanne and Armand Guillaumin (1841–1927). Although older than most of the future Impressionists, he became part of their circle, meeting with them to discuss their artistic ideas.