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19th Century French Impressionism

, 19th Century French Impressionism

Impressionist art, art movement, young artists, art critics, impressionism, Paris, French, Monet, Degas

19th Century French Impressionism

 

Impressionist art, art movement, young artists, art critics, impressionism, Paris, French, Monet, Degas

Impressionist art, art movement, young artists, art critics, impressionism, Paris, French, Monet, Degas

 

Impressionism as an art movement boasts some of the most recognizable names in art history, including Edgar Degas and Claude Monet. Beginning in 1874, the Anonymous Society of Painters, Sculptors, and Printmakers put on an art exhibit in Paris that distinctly clashed with then-prevailing art awards ceremonies like Salon, a ceremony in which French art critics and representatives from the Acádemie de Beaux-Arts observed the offerings and granted awards based on their findings. Many of the art critics present at the initial Paris exhibition of Impressionist art looked down on the offerings as incomplete, sketch-like, or even childish, but there were some (admittedly more progressive) art critics who engaged with the young artists’ offerings as excellent representations of modern life.

 

Impressionist art, art movement, young artists, art critics, impressionism, Paris, French, Monet, Degas

Impressionist art, art movement, young artists, art critics, impressionism, Paris, French, Monet, Degas

 

 

In some ways, the group of young artists took the labels of the art critics and ran with them. Impressionist art primarily featured brief, interrupted brushstrokes that produced abstractions of forms (as opposed to clearly defined objects), and many of the artists used unblended colors. Light (and its absence) was also a key feature of the art movement, due to many of the Impressionist artists wanting to experiment with how light is perceived by the viewer as well as how it serves to emphasize (or hide) certain aspects present on the canvas. Impressionist art in many ways gave the appearance of a lack of control or even a wildness on the part of the artist, when in fact the paintings were as tightly controlled as those in many earlier art movements.

 

Impressionist art, art movement, young artists, art critics, impressionism, Paris, French, Monet, Degas

Impressionist art, art movement, young artists, art critics, impressionism, Paris, French, Monet, Degas

 

 

Over the next few years following the initial 1874 exhibit, Impressionist art swept across Paris, France, and eventually to other European nations. Impressionism became the flagship offering for Salon, the very same body of critics that had once rejected those same initial offerings. Impressionism also had the unique historical position of prompting a suburban lifestyle change for many Parisians. The recently completed French railway system had many new lines extending out into the countryside around this time and many of the Impressionist artists (Monet in particular) often produced pieces of rural and suburban leisure activity. Thus, Parisians took to the countryside in droves, searching for the same authentic countryside experience found in Impressionist art.

 

Impressionist art, art movement, young artists, art critics, impressionism, Paris, French, Monet, Degas

Impressionist art, art movement, young artists, art critics, impressionism, Paris, French, Monet, Degas

 

This exploration of the countryside followed the renovations of Napoleon III in Paris, which had primarily functioned to create more open space and public gardens, as well as to make the city a safer place for residents and tourists alike. Impressionist artists were also able to spread their style following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1, as French officials called for artists to repaint public sites and newly reconstructed buildings following the destruction of the war. 

 

Impressionist art, art movement, young artists, art critics, impressionism, Paris, French, Monet, Degas

Impressionist art, art movement, young artists, art critics, impressionism, Paris, French, Monet, Degas

 

Impressionist art, art movement, young artists, art critics, impressionism, Paris, French, Monet, Degas

Impressionist art, art movement, young artists, art critics, impressionism, Paris, French, Monet, Degas

 

Impressionist art, art movement, young artists, art critics, impressionism, Paris, French, Monet, Degas

Impressionist art, art movement, young artists, art critics, impressionism, Paris, French, Monet, Degas

 

 

 

Keywords: Impressionist art, art movement, young artists, art critics, impressionism, Paris, French, Monet, Degas

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