Three Impressionist Works of Art - Essay Example

 Three Impressionist Works of art Abstract Impressionism work of art refers to the style of art which takes the image of an object just the same as one who would have seen it and can also be referred as immediacy. It started in France but spread across Europe like America and their paintings comprised of bright colors and light with most of them being from the outdoor scenario. The word Impressionist was used as an insult to the painting of Claude Monet’s painting Impression, sunrise in Paris in 1874 which appeared unfinished as it looked sketchy with a patchy texture (Weinberg, 2009). The artists in the Impressionism subject matter were the daily work or routine in everyday’s life and the scenes during that period. They are known to include Camille Pissarro and Alfred Sisley who painted countryside and river scenes giving a clear example of what impressionism was among other artist. Introduction In this context we are going to analyze critically on the contribution of three impressionists namely Claude Monet, Edouard Manet and Edgar Degas who are also known to be the contributors of the formation of Impressionism. In Claude Monet’s art we will use his art of a woman with a parasol, in Edouard’s art we will use his painting of Olympia (oil in canvas) while in Edgar’s art we will analyze his Glass of Absinthe (oil in canvas) Painting. Through their paintings most artists were seen to be interested in their type of art and can be said to have influenced artists like Giuseppe De Nittis an Italian and James Abbott McNeill who was an American among others. In this setting we will be able to see how the three painters tried to put across their negative feelings on the women as they show them as enjoying freedom and luxury (Weinberg, 2009). 1. The three artists in the Impressionist period tried to use short strokes in painting using oil in canvas in which they used brighter colors by blending them to produce different shades in their paintings. In Claude Monet’s art which is believed to be her wife Camille Pissarro, he tries to portray a lady enjoying breeze in the outside environment. In Edouard Manet’s painting on Olympia there is a prostitute lying on the bed with white beddings which are tucked next to her is a lady who looks like her servant showing how she is relaxed .The nude picture of the prostitute can be seen to have won necklace and a bangle showing how she is interested in jewelry which could be bought by the middle or upper class. In Edgar Degas pointing on the Glass of Absinthe commonly known as L’Absinthe, the setting is in a café with a lady and a gentleman sited next to a drink. Though Edgar is believed to have enjoyed staying in the café in this art he generally to show the middle and the upper class who were the major people being seen in the Cafes were enabling us to see how the women also participated in their involvement in the cafes. Through all this paintings we are able to see how they tried to use the style of luxury among women in displaying their paintings which was the main message in the Impressionism period depicting realism (Gardner & Kleiner, 2009,) 2. The three artists are the founders of Impressionism through their great paintings in art. They are believed to have majorly participated in showcasing their art in different views. Through this type of art they were able to express their feelings and expressions in which was related to the happening in the society during that period (Weinberg, 2009). They were able to incorporate brighter colors in their painting attracting people’s attention in promoting their paintings enabling this type of art spread as seen in the post-Impressionism art. 3. The paintings in the Impressionism was during the period of world war and the people were negative about the development of this type of art as they termed it as unfinished and did not understand the subject of the art. Most of the people believed in the traditional painting and the impressionist painting was a modernized type of painting in which the society was not ready for it as it showed realism or what was happening in that current society The Paris salon in which it was first displayed was one of the major rejection to this type of art and also the society played a major role. 4. The paintings were created during the Franco –Prussian Era whereby they pointed on the social activities experienced from each painter on his own opinions. The artist’s point of view was to deliver their opinions in each art as the main work of Impressionism relied on what they were experiencing and also the society (Geuens, 2000). 5. The works of the three impressionists fit into that period as they showed the women dominance in Paris and their involvement in the society. This can also be seen that most of the women in the particular period loved to live in luxury. The painting on Olympia by Edouard Manet’s shows this by the servant next to the prostitute. This can also be seen in Edgar Degas’ painting of a lady looking relaxed with a glass of Absinthe on the table showing women’s social status during that period. Claude Monet’s art also clearly shows this as the woman is relaxed standing outside with a parasol. 6. The Impressionist work of art helped in the improvement of the style of art used by other artists and this also led to modernity (A garden of impressionist verse, 2008). Most of the Impressionist’s works indicated what was happening in the society to which the society could learn from this and change their customs. It enable a clear show on what was happening in the Era and can also be said to have influenced the positive growth of the society and also changed people’s view in the work of art. Though their arts were first rejected in Paris Salon and also by other people, they were later accepted by the society as they were able to adopt the style and accepted Change (Gardner & Kleiner, 2010). 7. The subject matter of the three paintings shows the women participation in the society and how they enjoyed luxury .This can be seen in the three arts as the women are the major centre of the art as they are seen to have their own social standards. Claude Monet uses landscape in his art showing the fields in which a lady is standing enjoying the breeze. Edouard Manet painting has an indoor theme in which he tried to convey his message on prostitution. Edgar Degas painting on Glass of Absinthe also uses the background of the café in his paintings (Gardner & Kleiner, 2010). The three artists major influence was based on their personal experiences Edgar degas who used to drink in the café, Edouard Monet’s on the prostitute in Paris and Claude Monet on her wife. 8. The art of Impressionism was seen in the 18th century during the Second World War. During this period there was the war between France and Germany known as Franco-Prussian war in which it led to boundary formation (Gardner & Kleiner, 2009). 9. The Impressionist paintings differ. In Claude Monet’s art a woman with a parasol he tries to show the environment by using short strokes of paint with the paint being used in comparison with the real outside site. He mainly used this to produce a painting which shows the beauty of his backyard as he mainly used his backyard as his studio (Herbert, 1988). Through his painting, we are able to see the beauty of the lady standing with parasol as her cloth is swept away by the wind showing how she enjoyed this. In Edouard Manet’s painting on Olympia the nude picture also shows the beauty of the lady, with the painter using bright colors in showing her background and also the white beddings which look appealing (Geuens, 2000). Her pillow is soft and the painter also incorporated the blending in of colors and also the flowers being held by the servant showing the society post or view to the lady. She is pretty and this has been made by the use of the ornaments that is the necklace and the bangle or rather the wrist band. He clearly outdid this painting as we are able to understand his main aim in the painting as he uses vibrant colors (A garden of impressionist verse, 2008). The Glass of Absinthe by Edgar Degas has also been painted in the setting of the café. We can see the surrounding tables without legs implicating the Impressionist art views by the society on the unfinished paintings. The lady is well dressed the painter showing her social class using the combination of painting with the gentleman beside her. The aesthetic input can be showed buy him placing a man next to the lad y with a drink on the table indicating the major contribution of women in the society (Gardner & Kleiner, 2010). The symbolic significance of Claude Monet is to show the beauty of women in the society. This symbolized her wife Camille in the painting (Herbert, 1988). Olympia painting of Edouard Manet symbolizes the prostitute during that period in which he is able to show how the women participated in the social evils in the society. Edgar Degas art on the Glass of Absinthe also painted in referring or symbolizing his friends in the café to which he was a frequent visitor there (Geuens, 2000). From the context we can clearly see the prevalence of women in the society, how they tried to live in a luxurious standard others engaging in social evils even to acquire wealth. The women enjoyed freedom and are also seen to have come from the middle and upper class. Conclusion The three Impressionists can therefore be seen to have contributed to modernization in the society during that period. They were able to put the art works on the basis of what was happening in France during that period. This thereby led to freedom of expression among the people from the government as the impressionist art was a way of expressing feelings. From the three artists we can also see that they tried to convey the strength of women during that era and showed how they lived in luxury (Weinberg, 2009). Through the opening in Paris Salon most of the people were against these paintings as some termed them as immoral as seen from Edouard’s paint on Olympia which brought controversies among people (Geuens, 2000). Though they took it as an insult they were able to understand the type of art and its effects leading to some of the artists adopt. The uses of bright vibrant color also enabled them to stop painting using the traditional way and adopt the modern method of painting. References A garden of impressionist verse. (2008). London: Frances Lincoln. Gardner, H., & Kleiner, F. S. (2010). Gardner & Kleiner's art through the ages: The western perspective. Australia: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. Geuens, J.-P. (2000). Film production theory. Albany, NY: State Univ. of New York Press. Herbert, R. L. (1988). Impressionism: Art, leisure, and Parisian society. New Haven: Yale University Press. Weinberg, H. B. (2009). American impressionism and realism: A landmark exhibition from the MET. 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