Impressionism vs. Post-Impressionism

Dans les oliviers, 1878 by John Singer Sargent

Impressionism

If I had to pick between Impressionism or Post Impressionism, I would pick Impressionism. Impressionist paintings have characteristics which include a fluidity of movement, short, thin visible brush strokes, various angles, and show the play of light on the subject matter. ("Impressionism"). One of the Impressionist painters I really like is John Singer Sargent. Though he is in the Impressionism category, I find his paintings to be slightly different than those of Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. His depictions are still clearly defined, without losing his images in the soft painted colors. The painting pictured to the left is one of my favorites, among many, of his. The colors are muted, almost dull with the soft and quick strokes of the brush, depicting the Impressionist style. I also liked how he painted the woman from behind, as if she doesn't know he is there, which showcases the Impressionist style of capturing a quick moment, as if he took a picture just as she leaned against the branch. It has a dream-like quality which I like. Another painting by Singer, which is slightly different in composition, is Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth, 1889, pictured below on the left. 

Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth, 1889 by John Singer Sargent

The Impressionist style shown here is that of capturing a moment, an impression of Ellen Terry in the midst of performing. Looking at how she has her hands raised high, the impression is one of the movement of the act. She is placing the crown upon her head, majestically. He uses this same style in many of his portraits, where you will find his subjects posing for the painting as if in motion, or caught in the act of a movement. I can see some Pre-Raphaelite influence from him because this painting reminds me of the painting Ophelia by John Everett Millais, not just because of its similar Shakespearean theme, but also the similar colors and movement it possesses. The greens in both, especially, are vibrant and warm. The theme of antiquity, mythology and biblical themes found prevalent in the Pre-Raphaelite movement is not really seen with Sargent, but I think the similarities are his use of colors.

Ophelia, 1851 by John Everett Millais

Bedouins, 1905-06 by John Singer Sargent

 Another painting that shows the versatility of Singer's Impressionistic style is the Bedouins, 1905-06, pictured on the right. The difference between this painting and that of the other two examples is he used watercolors instead of oil-based paints. This allows for a more visible loose brush stroke style, and shows the contrast of the lighter colors from the darker ones. He is quoted as describing the use of water colors as "an act of making the best of an impending disaster" ("Paul Cezanne's Approach to Watercolors"). Watercolors had to be used quickly, the individual brush strokes and colors so vibrant and loose that every stroke was distinguishable from the last. The absence of color, in other words, the white of the paper was utilized as a contrasting factor to the colors used.

Post Impressionism

My feelings on Post-Impressionism is that I do not care for the way they are painted. I find them to be too simple for my taste, especially the focused used on shapes to distort form and opening up the picture to a more personal interpretation. I find my dislike to these Post-Impressionist painters funny when compared to the sentiments of landscape painter and art teacher Joseph Vincent on his initial "impression" of Renoir's The Dancer, quoted in the french magazine Clarivari as saying, "What a pity-that the painter, who has a certain understanding of color, doesn't draw better; his dancer's legs are as cottony as the gauze of her skirts" ("How the impressionists got their name").

The Dancer, 1874 by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

 I feel the same when I look upon some of the Post-Impressionist work that Vincent did looking upon Impressionist work for the first time. For me, the colors are too primary, there is no discern-able hues showing deeper lines and the plays of lights and shadows. An example of one painting I do not care for is The Yellow Christ by Paul Gauguin.

The Yellow Christ, 1889 by Paul Gauguin

Though the level of skill needed for Gauguin to paint this might have been seen as high at an artistic level, when I look upon this painting I don't see it. I see a child's painting, and that might be why I prefer Impressionism over Post-Impressionism. However, I will say that I do like some of the paintings done by George Seurat.

Bathers at Asnières, 1883-84 by George Seurat

A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of la Grand Jatte, 1886 by George Seurat

Though the subject matter is depicted simply, with no distinct facial features or lines, his use of color and the style in which he applied it to the canvas appeals to me. Its simplistically, yet artistically, done. I can see individual layers of colors and how it blends together, almost in a pixelated fashion.

Aesthetics

I think my personal aesthetic taste prefers artworks with depth, colors, and detailed lines and features. Sargent's use of colors in both oils and watercolors and the way he provides motion to his subjects, Renoir's soft mix of colors and hues, and George Seurat's ability to use colors and extremely tiny brushstrokes to create crisp lines all show a difficult skill of workmanship. One of the modern works I researched was similar to the Post-Impressionist movement because of its use of shapes and short strokes, which is used by just a palette knife instead of a brush.

City by the Lake, Boca Raton n.d., Leonid Afremov

I find these colors in City by the Lake, by Leonid Afremov, to be reminiscent of the watercolor picture of the Bedouins by Sargent. You can see the sharp square strokes of the knife, and how the images are strongly defined against the canvas. Breathtaking.

Works Cited

"Bathers at Asnières." georgeseurat.org. georgeseurat.org. 2015. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. http://www.georgesseurat.org/Bathers-At-Asnieres-1883-84-large.html 

"Bedouins." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 May 2014. Web. 23 Mar. 2015.  http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bedouins_John_Singer_Sargent.jpeg

"City by the Lake." afremov.com. afremov.com. 2014. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. http://afremov.com/CITY-BY-THE-LAKE-PALETTE-KNIFE-Oil-Painting-On-Canvas-By-Leonid-Afremov-Size-30-x40.html

"Dans les oliviers." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 1 Dec. 2013. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dans_les_oliviers.jpg

"Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 5 Nov. 2014. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ellen_Terry_as_Lady_Macbeth.jpg 

"How Impressionists got their name." khanacademy.org. Khan Academy, 8 May 2014. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-modern/avant-garde-france/impressionism/a/how-the-impressionists-got-their-name

"Impressionism." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Feb. 2015. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impressionism

"Ophelia." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Jan. 2015. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Everett_Millais_-_Ophelia_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

"Paul Cézanne's Approach to Watercolor." khanacademy.org. Khan Academy, 8 May 2014. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-modern/avant-garde-france/post-impressionism/v/paul-cezanne-approach-watercolor

"Sunday Afternoon on the Island of la Grand Jatte." georgeseurat.org. georgeseurat.org. 2015. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. http://www.georgesseurat.org/Sunday-Afternoon-on-the-Island-of-la-Grande-Jatte--1886.html

"The Dancer." National Gallery of Art. NGA.gov, n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. https://images.nga.gov/en/search/do_quick_search.html?q=%221942.9.72%22

"The Yellow Christ." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Feb. 2015. Web. 23 Mar. 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Gauguin#/media/File:Gauguin_Il_Cristo_giallo.jpg

The French Revolution and Art in the 1700s

Art in the late 18th Century began to change as a result of the economic and political troubles in Europe brought about by the French Revolution (1789-1799). Before the storming of the Bastille, the Reign of Terror, and the coming of Napoleon Bonaparte, the visual and musical genres prevalent in Western Europe were influenced heavily by the Rococo style of the period. The works of Louise Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun followed the Rococo styles, especially her paintings of Marie Antoinette. During and after the French Revolution, the artist Jacques-Louis David, used his works to portray his revolutionary ideals with his depictions of political martyrs. The Revolution had an impact on other countries as well, which in part influenced Beethoven's opera Fidelio. The French Revolution's impact on art created a new era departing from the Classical and Baroque periods containing the aristocratic influences and non-secular themes prevalent during these times.

Prise du palais des Tuileries by Jacques Duplessis-Bertaux, 1793

The French Revolution

There is much debate on what caused the French Revolution, however, the one main factor impacting the onset of the Revolution was the deep debt of the nation and the public's view of the aristocracy and the monarchy. The French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War created a financial hardship for France, and the economy took a severe hit with multiple bad harvests. The French people were starving and spiraling into severe poverty while the aristocracy and the monarchs watched. An uprising began, as cries for reform and equality sprang up from the populace. Refusing to be ignored, the revolutionaries incited fighting and resistance against those loyal to the crown and against the royalty. What followed was the storming of the Bastille, abolishing slavery and feudalism, the Declaration for the Rights of Man, the First Constitution, the women's march on Versailles, the executions of King Louis XVI and his wife Queen Marie Antoinette, and the Reign of Terror.

Art's involvement in the rebellious atmosphere of France

Self Portrait of Louise Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun

Louise Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun was the royal painter to Marie Antoinette before the start of the Revolution. Her styles were typical of the Rococo period, though she did utilize some Neoclassic skills with the use of harder lines and period dress. The Rococo movement was similar to that of the Baroque, but it depicted a playful and lightness to its schemes. Sometimes showing sensual images which bordered on the sexually explicit, Rococo was still ornate and opulent, but with a more elegant approach to that of the Baroque. When compared to the society at the time of this period,"the delicacy and playfulness of Rococo designs is often seen as in tune with the excesses of Louis XV's reign," and was carried on down through the generations (Rococo wikipedia).

Marie Antoinette and her children by Louise Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun, 1787 

The fact that Le Brun continued to use this style, which was being compared to the over indulgences of the monarchy, and her numerous paintings of the Queen, 30 in total, did not help the image of the monarch she was trying to depict to the public. Le Brun experienced first-hand the attitude and character of Marie Antoinette, and she wished to show the French people the side of the Queen they did not get to see. She painted Marie Antoinette and her children to portray the maternal instincts of the Queen, as shown in the image above, surrounded by her children in a simple, yet appropriate dress suitable for her status, but not overly elaborate. She did not succeed in her efforts, for she was forced to flee out of the country because of her close relationship to the Queen, who was executed after her husband in 1793.

  The Depiction of the Revolution through Art

Self-Portrait of Jacques Louis David,1794

Jacques-Louis David was considered one of the leading artists in French Revolutionary art and the Neoclassicism Movement. His history painting contrasted sharply to the lighthearted and frivolous style of Rococo, by showing serious and somber subject matter. However, his focus on Greek and Roman antiquities turned to Revolutionary propaganda as he enmeshed himself in the ideology of the Jacobin Club, a radical left-wing political party. He voted for the execution of the King, and signed the capture and death warrants to numerous aristocrats. Dr. Beth Harris states he was the, "minister of propaganda, spreading ideals of the revolution through images." (Jacques-Louis David, The Death of Marat, khanacademy). One of these ideals was concerning the depiction of christian martyrs. The Revolutionary government requested David to paint three distinct images, to show the public the self-sacrifice being made for their equal rights and for the liberty of France.

The Death of Marat, 1793

The Death of Joseph Bara, 1794

The Last Moments of Michel Peletier, 1793

David's paintings of Le Peletier, Bara, and Marat were done to focus on the self-sacrifice of these revolutionaries who were either assassinated by Royalists, or died fighting for the Revolutionary cause. No longer is the martyrdom of christian figures a feature of Classical Art as the depictions of political martyrs steered the new Republic of France way from the Ancien Régime of the corrupt monarchy to the beginning of public government (Jacques-Louis David, The Death of Marat). This would not last, however, as the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte and his new Empire would push France back into monarchy rule.

The Aftermath of the Revolution to Art

The French Revolution would have a profound impact on the art form of opera. Out of the French genre of the Opéra-Comique came the Rescue Opera. Materializing during the Revolution, the Rescue Opera highlighted not only "the heroic rescue of an individual from mortal danger. They also portray a rescuer so heroic that he or she willingly risks everything in the cause, with an outcome that signals the inevitable triumph of human will and freedom over injustice and tyranny" (A Rescue for the Ages: Beethoven's 'Fidelio', carolinalive.org). This form of opera also was considered more serious than the comedies of the Baroque period, coinciding with the shift to the Neoclassicim style from Rococo. No wonder this form of opera became popular in France, and it quickly spread to the outlying countries of Austria and Germany.

Ludwig von Beethoven Portrait by Joseph Karl Stieler, 1820

Fidelio by Ludwig von Beethoven, a popular composer of Classical music, is one of the more famous and well-known operas in the Rescue Opera genre. The story portrays Leonore, a woman who disguises herself as a prison guard named Fidelio in order to rescue her husband, Florestan, who is incarcerated in a political prison.  The character of Leonore and the underlying theme of self-sacrifice, heroism, and liberating the unjustly imprisoned highlights the sentiments of the Revolution. The ending of the opera, with the minister coming to the rescue of Florestan and Leonore and the rest of the political prisoners, symbolizes their need for a savior. This symbolic ending coincides with the supposed savior France found in Napoleon, who readily took up the reigns of the Revolution and began to shape the country into an ideal Republic.

Fidelio by Ludwig von Beethoven, performed by Orchestra of the Opernhaus Zurich and the Chorus of the Oper Zurich, 2004

Works Cited

"A Rescue for the Ages: Beethoven's 'Fidelio'." carolinalive.org. WDAV and Davidson College, 2010. Web. 5 Mar. 2015.  http://www.carolinalive.org/component/k2/item/2382-a-rescue-for-the-ages-beethovens-fidelio?pg=intro
Beethoven, Ludwig von. "Fidelio, as performed by Orchestra of the Opernhaus Zurich and the Chorus of the Oper Zurich." youtube. Youtube, 5 Aug. 2014. Web. 5 Mar. 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcYodDn5Q-o
 Drs. Beth Harris and Steven Zucker. "Jacques Louise David: The Death of Marat." khanacademy.org. Khan Academy, 8 May 2014. Web. 5 Mar. 2015. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/monarchy-enlightenment/neo-classicism/v/david-marat
"Fidelio." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Dec. 2014. Web. 5 Mar. 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidelio
"French Revolution." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 5 Mar. 2015. Web. 5 Mar. 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution
"Jacques Louis David." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 3 Mar. 2015. Web. 5 Mar. 2015.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques-Louis_David
"Louise Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Feb. 2015. Web. 5 Mar. 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_%C3%89lisabeth_Vig%C3%A9e_Le_Brun
"Ludwig von Beethoven." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Feb. 2015. Web. 5 Mar. 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_van_Beethoven 
"Ludwig von Beethoven Portrait by Joseph Karl Stieler, 1820." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Dec. 2014. Web. 5 Mar. 2015. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beethoven.jpg  
"Marie Antoinette and Her Children by Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Feb. 2015. Web. 5 Mar. 2015. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marie_Antoinette_and_her_Children_by_%C3%89lisabeth_Vig%C3%A9e-Lebrun.jpg
"Prise du Palais des Tuileries." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 6 Feb. 2015. Web. 5 Mar. 2015. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jacques_Bertaux_-_Prise_du_palais_des_Tuileries_-_1793.jpg
"Rococo." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 7 Feb. 2015. Web. 5 Mar. 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rococo
"Self-Portrait of Jacques Louis David." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Jan. 2015. Web. 5 Mar. 2015. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:David_Self_Portrait.jpg
"Self-Portrait of Louise Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun." batquano. Bad Avenue Productions. 18 Feb. 2015. Web. 5 March 2015. http://www.batguano.com/vlbflor1.jpg
"The Death of Marat." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Feb. 2015. Web. 5 Mar. 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_Marat
"The Death of Young Bara." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 7 Feb. 2015. Web. 5 Mar. 2015. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_Young_Bara#mediaviewer/File:Bara_David.jpg
"The Last Moments of Michel Lepeletier (Les Derniers Moments de Michel Lepeletier de Jacques-Louis David)." tableau. repeinture.com, n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2015. http://repeinture.com/tableau.html