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| Wednesday, 25 August 2004 |
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Argenteuil- the birthplace of impressionist art by Derrick Schokman This year is the 140th official birth anniversary of the art of impressionism, a breakaway from the classical form which took place in the village of Argenteuil, and idyllic spot on the north bank of the Seine. It was in this place that a group of painters, whose works were being rejected for exhibition by the Salon in Paris, formed the Societe Cooperative des Artistes, Paintres, Sculptaers, Graveurs etc in 1874 to hold their own exhibitions to present their new art to the Parisienne public. The members were Monet, Pissaro, Sisley, Renoir, Degas, Cezanne and Manet. Manet had already established his reputation in the "classic" style, combining in himself the epochs of painting since Velasquez (Spanish) and Frans Hals, before impressionism lightened his palette and brought him into the sunshine.
That is where the impressionists worked - outdoors instead of in the "artificial atmosphere" of the studio, where they attempted to capture in paint more realistically the colours seen in nature, setting up their easels in country lanes and meadows or in the houseboats gently rocking on the Seiene. It was actually Monet's painting entitled "Impression: Soleil levant" (sunrise) that gave the name to this type of painting. It is an early morning harbour scene with ships and boats encompassed in a misty haziness that surrounds the red ball of the sun. The consummation of Monet's work however was in colour fantasies, in which he explored the transformation of colour through subjects like ponds, water lilies, haystacks, rows of trees and Gothic cathedrals.
Landscaping as a theme was already known, but Pissaro and Sisley achieved a sensitive handling of it that brought out the evanescent charm of the scenes they painted. Degas's pictures gave the impression of a snapshot. He had the knack of composition which caught the flow of movement in his subjects to look uncontrived. This ability is specially demonstrated in his pictures of ballet dancers and racehorses. Renoir excelled in portraiture. He had the wonderful ability to capture the complete naturalness of his subjects. This is amply demonstrated in his painting. "The Lunching of the Boating Party" where a moment of pure joie-de-vivre is caught on canvas at a restaurant on the Seine, a favourite weekend resort in summer months. Boating was in high fashion as is seen in another picture by Manet titled "Argenteuil". This picture, which was exhibited in 1864, is associated with Manet's introduction to impressionism (although its rigorous construction goes far beyond) and the birth of impressionism in Argenteuil. By the beginning of the 20th century the Impressionist Movement had almost exhausted itself, the "classic" form once again becoming popular. The artistic effects were no longer directed at Transposings the "beautiful appearance" of the visible world into a magical pictorial language, but much more at rediscovering solid form and strengthening the pictorial element. Cezanne dominated this post-impressionist period. There was also a form of neo-impressionism that was led by Seurat in the technique of pointillism. In this form of art he split the primary colours and represented them on canvas by juxtaposed dots which formed the correct colour impression at a distance. **** Back **** |
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