Impressi - The history of impressionism. Impressionism style: paintings by famous artists Impressionism as an established artistic movement


Impressionism is an artistic movement that emerged in the 70s. XIX century in French painting, and then manifested itself in music, literature, theater.

Impressionism in painting began to take shape long before the famous exhibition of 1874. Edouard Manet is traditionally considered the founder of the Impressionists. He was very inspired by the classical works of Titian, Rembrandt, Rubens, Velazquez. Manet expressed his vision of the images on his canvases, adding “vibrating” strokes that created the effect of incompleteness. In 1863, Manet created Olympia, which caused a great scandal in cultural society.

At first glance, the picture was made in line with traditional canons, but at the same time it already carried innovative trends. About 87 reviews were written about Olympia in various Parisian publications. She was hit with a lot of negative criticism - the artist was accused of vulgarity. And only a few articles could be called favorable.

Manet used a single-layer paint technique in his work, which created a stained effect. Subsequently, this technique of applying paint was adopted by impressionist artists as the basis for images on paintings.

A distinctive feature of impressionism was the subtlest recording of fleeting impressions, in a special manner of reproducing the light environment with the help of a complex mosaic of pure colors and cursory decorative strokes.

It is curious that at the beginning of their search, the artists used a cyanometer - an instrument for determining the blueness of the sky. Black color was excluded from the palette, it was replaced with other color shades, which made it possible not to spoil the sunny mood of the paintings.

The Impressionists were guided by the latest scientific discoveries of their time. The color theory of Chevreul and Helmholtz boils down to the following: the sun's ray is split into its component colors, and, accordingly, two paints placed on the canvas enhance the pictorial effect, and when mixed the paints lose intensity.

The aesthetics of impressionism developed, in part, as an attempt to decisively free ourselves from the conventions of classicism in art, as well as from the persistent symbolism and profundity of late romantic painting, which invited everyone to see encrypted plans that needed careful interpretation. Impressionism asserted not just the beauty of everyday reality, but the capture of a colorful atmosphere, without detailing or interpreting, depicting the world as an ever-changing optical phenomenon.

Impressionist artists developed a complete plein air system. The predecessors of this stylistic feature were landscape painters who came from the Barbizon school, the main representatives of which were Camille Corot and John Constable.

Working in an open space provided more opportunity to capture the slightest color changes at different times of the day.

Claude Monet created several series of paintings on the same subject, for example, “Rouen Cathedral” (a series of 50 paintings), “Haystacks” (a series of 15 paintings), “Pond with Water Lilies”, etc. The main indicator of these series there was a change in light and color in the image of the same object painted at different times of the day.

Another achievement of impressionism is the development of an original painting system, where complex tones are decomposed into pure colors conveyed by individual strokes. The artists did not mix colors on the palette, but preferred to apply strokes directly to the canvas. This technique gave the paintings a special trepidation, variability and relief. The artists' works were filled with color and light.

The exhibition on April 15, 1874 in Paris was the result of the period of formation and presentation of a new movement to the general public. The exhibition took place in the studio of photographer Felix Nadar on the Boulevard des Capucines.

The name “Impressionism” arose after an exhibition at which Monet’s painting “Impression” was exhibited. Sunrise". The critic L. Leroy, in his review in the publication Charivari, gave a humorous description of the exhibition of 1874, citing the example of Monet’s work. Another critic, Maurice Denis, reproached the impressionists for their lack of individuality, feeling, and poetry.

At the first exhibition, about 30 artists showed their works. This was the largest number in comparison with subsequent exhibitions until 1886.

One cannot help but mention the positive feedback from Russian society. Russian artists and democratic critics, who were always keenly interested in the artistic life of France - I. V. Kramskoy, I. E. Repin and V. V. Stasov - highly appreciated the achievements of the Impressionists from the very first exhibition.

The new stage in the history of art, which began with the exhibition of 1874, was not a sudden explosion of revolutionary tendencies - it was the culmination of a slow and gradual development.

While all the great masters of the past contributed to the development of the principles of impressionism, the immediate roots of the movement can most easily be discovered in the twenty years preceding the historical exhibition.

In parallel with the exhibitions at the Salon, Impressionist exhibitions were gaining momentum. Their works demonstrated new trends in painting. This was a reproach to salon culture and exhibition traditions. Subsequently, impressionist artists managed to attract admirers of new trends in art to their side.

Theoretical knowledge and formulations of impressionism began to develop quite late. Artists preferred more practice and their own experiments with light and color. In impressionism, primarily pictorial, the legacy of realism can be traced; it clearly expresses the anti-academic, anti-salon orientation and installation of depicting the surrounding reality of that time. Some researchers note that impressionism has become a special branch of realism.

Undoubtedly, in impressionistic art, as in every artistic movement that arises during the period of turning point and crisis of old traditions, various and even contradictory trends were intertwined, for all its external integrity.

The fundamental features were the themes of the artists’ works and the means of artistic expression. Irina Vladimirova’s book about the impressionists includes several chapters: “Landscape, nature, impressions”, “City, places of meetings and partings”, “Hobbies as a way of life”, “People and characters”, “Portraits and self-portraits”, “Still life”. It also describes the creation history and location of each work.

During the heyday of impressionism, artists found a harmonious balance between objective reality and its perception. The artists tried to capture every ray of light, the movement of the breeze, and the changeability of nature. To preserve the freshness of their paintings, the Impressionists created an original painting system, which later turned out to be very important for the further development of art. Despite the general trends in painting, each artist found his own creative path and main genres in painting.

Classical impressionism is represented by such artists as Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Edgar Alfred Sisley, Camille Pissarro, Jean Frédéric Bazille, Berthe Morisot, Edgar Degas.

Let's consider the contribution of some artists to the development of impressionism.

Edouard Manet (1832-1883)

Manet received his first painting lessons from T. Couture, thanks to which the future artist acquired a lot of necessary professional skills. Due to the lack of proper attention from the teacher to his students, Manet leaves the master’s atelier and engages in self-education. He attends exhibitions in museums; his creative formation was greatly influenced by the old masters, especially Spanish ones.

In the 1860s, Manet wrote two works in which the basic principles of his artistic style are visible. Lola of Valencia (1862) and The Flutist (1866) show Manet as an artist who reveals the character of his subject through the rendering of color.

His ideas on brushstrokes and his approach to color were adopted by other Impressionist artists. In the 1870s, Manet became closer to his followers and worked plein air without black on the palette. The arrival to impressionism was the result of the creative evolution of Manet himself. Manet's most impressionistic paintings are “In a Boat” (1874) and “Claude Monet in a Boat” (1874).

Manet also painted many portraits of various society ladies, actresses, models, and beautiful women. Each portrait conveyed the uniqueness and individuality of the model.

Shortly before his death, Manet painted one of his masterpieces - “Bar Folies-Bergère” (1881-1882). This painting combines several genres: portrait, still life, everyday scene.

N. N. Kalitina writes: “The magic of Manet’s art is such that the girl confronts her surroundings, thanks to which her mood is so clearly revealed, and at the same time is a part, for the entire background, vaguely discernible, vague, worrying, is also resolved in blue-black , bluish-white, yellow tones.”

Claude Monet (1840-1926)

Claude Monet was the undoubted leader and founder of classical impressionism. The main genre of his painting was landscape.

In his youth, Monet was fond of caricature and caricature. The first models for his works were his teachers and comrades. He used cartoons in newspapers and magazines as a model. He copied the drawings in Gaulois by E. Carge, a poet and caricaturist, a friend of Gustave Coubret.

At college, Monet's painting was taught by Jacques-François Hauchard. But it is fair to note the influence on Monet of Boudin, who supported the artist, gave him advice, and motivated him to continue his work.

In November 1862, Monet continued his studies in Paris with Gleyre. Thanks to this, Monet met Basil, Renoir, and Sisley in his studio. Young artists prepared to enter the School of Fine Arts, respecting their teacher, who charged little for his lessons and gave advice in a gentle manner.

Monet created his paintings not as a story, not as an illustration of an idea or theme. His painting, like life, had no clear goals. He saw the world without focusing on details, on some principles, he went towards a “landscape vision” (the term of the art historian A. A. Fedorov-Davydov). Monet strove for plotlessness and a fusion of genres on canvas. The means of implementing his innovations were sketches, which were supposed to become finished paintings. All sketches were drawn from life.

He painted meadows, hills, flowers, rocks, gardens, village streets, the sea, beaches and much more; he turned to depicting nature at different times of the day. He often wrote the same place at different times, thereby creating entire cycles from his works. The principle of his work was not the depiction of objects in the picture, but the accurate transmission of light.

Let us give a few examples of the artist’s works - “Field of Poppies at Argenteuil” (1873), “Splash Pool” (1869), “Pond with Water Lilies” (1899), “Wheat Stacks” (1891).

Pierre Auguste Renoir (1841-1919)

Renoir is one of the outstanding masters of secular portraiture; in addition, he worked in the genres of landscape, everyday scenes, and still life.

The peculiarity of his work is his interest in the personality of a person, the revelation of his character and soul. In his canvases, Renoir tries to emphasize the feeling of the fullness of existence. The artist is attracted to entertainment and celebrations; he paints balls, walks with their movement and variety of characters, and dances.

The artist’s most famous works are “Portrait of the Actress Jeanne Samary”, “Umbrellas”, “Bathing in the Seine”, etc.

It is interesting that Renoir was distinguished by his musicality and as a child sang in a church choir under the direction of the outstanding composer and teacher Charles Gounod in Paris at the Saint-Eustache Cathedral. C. Gounod strongly recommended that the boy study music. But at the same time, Renoir discovered his artistic talent - from the age of 13 he had already learned to paint porcelain dishes.

Music lessons influenced the development of the artist’s personality. A number of his works are related to musical themes. They reflect the playing of piano, guitar, and mandolin. These are the paintings “Guitar Lesson”, “Young Spanish Woman with a Guitar”, “Young Lady at the Piano”, “Woman Playing the Guitar”, “Piano Lesson”, etc.

Jean Frédéric Bazille (1841-1870)

According to his artist friends, Basil was the most promising and outstanding impressionist.

His works are distinguished by their bright colors and spirituality of images. Pierre Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley and Claude Monet had a great influence on his creative path. Jean Frederic's apartment was a kind of studio and housing for aspiring painters.

Basil primarily painted en plein air. The main idea of ​​his work was the image of man against the backdrop of nature. His first heroes in the paintings were his artist friends; many impressionists were very fond of drawing each other in their works.

Frédéric Bazille, in his creative work, outlined the movement of realistic impressionism. His most famous painting, Family Reunion (1867), is autobiographical. The artist depicts his family members on it. This work was presented at the Salon and received approval from the public.

In 1870, the artist died in the Prussian-French War. After the artist’s death, his artist friends organized a third exhibition of impressionists, where his paintings were also exhibited.

Camille Pissarro (1830-1903)

Camille Pissarro is one of the largest representatives of landscape artists after C. Monet. His works were constantly exhibited in Impressionist exhibitions. In his works, Pissarro preferred to depict plowed fields, peasant life and labor. His paintings were distinguished by their structural forms and clarity of composition.

Later, the artist began to paint paintings on urban themes. N. N. Kalitina notes in her book: “He looks at the city streets from the windows of the upper floors or from the balconies, without introducing them into the composition.”

Under the influence of Georges-Pierre Seurat, the artist took up pointillism. This technique involves applying each stroke separately, as if putting dots. But creative prospects in this area were not realized, and Pissarro returned to impressionism.

Pissarro's most famous paintings were “Boulevard Montmartre. Afternoon, sunny”, “Opera Passage in Paris”, “French Theater Square in Paris”, “Garden in Pontoise”, “Harvest”, “Haymaking”, etc.

Alfred Sisley (1839-1899)

Alfred Sisley's main genre of painting was landscape. In his early works one can see mainly the influence of K. Corot. Gradually, in the process of working together with C. Monet, J. F. Bazille, P. O. Renoir, light colors begin to appear in his works.

The artist is attracted by the play of light, the change in the state of the atmosphere. Sisley turned to the same landscape several times, capturing it at different times of the day. The artist gave priority in his works to images of water and sky, which changed every second. The artist managed to achieve perfection with the help of color; each shade in his works carries a unique symbolism.

His most famous works: “Rural Alley” (1864), “Frost in Louveciennes” (1873), “View of Montmartre from the Flower Island” (1869), “Early Snow in Louveciennes” (1872), “Bridge at Argenteuil” (1872 ).

Edgar Degas (1834-1917)

Edgar Degas is an artist who began his creative career by studying at the School of Fine Arts. He was inspired by the artists of the Italian Renaissance, which influenced his work as a whole. At the beginning, Degas painted historical paintings, for example, “Spartan girls challenge Spartan boys to a competition. (1860). The main genre of his painting is portrait. In his works, the artist relies on classical traditions. He creates works marked by a keen sense of his time.

Unlike his colleagues, Degas does not share the joyful, open view of life and things inherent in impressionism. The artist is closer to the critical tradition of art: compassion for the fate of the common man, the ability to see the souls of people, their inner world, inconsistency, tragedy.

For Degas, objects and interior surrounding a person play a big role in creating a portrait. Let us give several examples of works: “Désirée Dio with an orchestra” (1868-1869), “Portrait of a Woman” (1868), “The Morbilli Couple” (1867), etc.

The principle of portraiture in Degas’s works can be traced throughout his entire creative career. In the 1870s, the artist depicted the society of France, in particular Paris, in its full glory in his works. The artist's interests include urban life in motion. “Movement was for him one of the most important manifestations of life, and the ability of art to convey it was the most important achievement of modern painting,” writes N.N. Kalitina.

During this period of time, such films as “The Star” (1878), “Miss Lola in Fernando’s Circus”, “Horsing at Epsom”, etc. were created.

A new round of Degas’s creativity was his interest in ballet. It shows the behind-the-scenes life of ballerinas, talking about their hard work and rigorous training. But, despite this, the artist manages to find airiness and lightness in the rendering of their images.

In the ballet series of paintings by Degas, achievements in the field of transmitting artificial light from the stage are visible; they speak of the artist’s coloristic talent. The most famous paintings are “Blue Dancers” (1897), “Dance Class” (1874), “Dancer with a Bouquet” (1877), “Dancers in Pink” (1885) and others.

At the end of his life, due to deteriorating eyesight, Degas tried his hand at sculpture. His objects are the same ballerinas, women, horses. In sculpture, Degas tries to convey movement, and in order to appreciate the sculpture, you need to look at it from different angles.

Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. D.N. Ushakov

impressionism

impressionism, many no, m. (French impressionisme) (art.). A movement in art that aims to convey and reproduce immediate, subjective impressions of reality.

Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language. S.I.Ozhegov, N.Yu.Shvedova.

impressionism

A, m. Art direction of the late 19th - early 20th centuries. seeking to directly reproduce the artist’s experiences, moods and impressions.

adj. impressionistic, -aya, -oe and impressionistic, -aya, -oe.

New explanatory dictionary of the Russian language, T. F. Efremova.

impressionism

m. Art direction in the last third of the 19th century - the beginning of the 20th century, based on the desire to reflect the real world in its mobility, variability and to capture the own feelings of the artist, composer, etc.

Encyclopedic Dictionary, 1998

impressionism

IMPRESSIONISM (from the French impression - impression) direction in the art of the last third of the 19th - early. 20 centuries, whose representatives sought to most naturally and impartially capture the real world in its mobility and variability, to convey their fleeting impressions. Impressionism originated in the 1860s in French painting: E. Manet, O. Renoir, E. Degas introduced into art freshness and spontaneity of perception of life, depiction of instantaneous, seemingly random movements and situations, apparent imbalance, fragmentation of composition, unexpected points of view, angles, cuts of figures. In the 1870-80s. impressionism was formed in the French landscape: C. Monet, C. Pissarro, A. Sisley developed a consistent system of plein air; working in the open air, they created a feeling of sparkling sunlight, the richness of the colors of nature, the dissolution of volumetric forms in the vibration of light and air. The decomposition of complex tones into pure colors (applied to the canvas in separate strokes and designed to optically mix them in the viewer’s eye), colored shadows and reflections gave rise to unprecedentedly light, vibrant painting. In addition to painters (American - J. Whistler, German - M. Lieberman, L. Corinth, Russians - K. A. Korovin, I. E. Grabar), impressionism’s interest in instantaneous movement, fluid form was embraced by sculptors (French - O. Rodin , Italian - M. Rosso, Russian - P. P. Trubetskoy). For musical impressionism con. 19 - beginning 20th centuries (in France - C. Debussy, partly M. Ravel, P. Dukas, etc.), which developed under the influence of impressionism in painting, is characterized by the transmission of subtle moods, psychological nuances, a tendency towards landscape programming, and an interest in timbre and harmonic colors. In the literature, the features of the impressionistic style are spoken of in relation to European literature of the last third of the 19th century, Russian poetry of the beginning. 20th century (K. Hamsun in Norway, I. F. Annensky in Russia, etc.).

Impressionism

(French impressionnisme, from impression ≈ impression), a movement in art of the last third of the 19th - early 20th centuries. I. developed in French painting in the late 1860s and early 1870s. At the time of its maturity (1870s ≈ first half of the 1880s), I. was represented by a group of artists (C. Monet, O. Renoir, E. Degas, C. Pissarro, A. Sisley, B. Morisot, etc. .), who united to fight for the renewal of art and to overcome official salon academism and organized 8 exhibitions for this purpose from 1874 to 1886; E. Manet, who back in the 1860s. predetermined the direction of I. and who also in the 1870–80s. was connected with him in many ways, but was not part of this group. Title "I." arose after the exhibition of 1874, at which C. Monet’s painting “Impression. Rising Sun" ("Impression, Soleil levant", 1872, now in the Marmottan Museum, Paris).

I. continues what was started by the realistic art of the 1840s–60s. liberation from the conventions of classicism, romanticism and academicism and affirms the beauty of everyday reality, simple, democratic motives, and achieves living authenticity of the image. I. makes authentic, modern life aesthetically significant in its naturalness, in all the richness and sparkle of its colors, capturing the visible world in its inherent constant variability, recreating the unity of man and his environment. By emphasizing the transient moment of the continuous flow of life, as if accidentally caught by the eye, the impressionists abandon the narrative, the plot. In their landscapes, portraits, and multi-figure compositions, artists strive to preserve the impartiality, strength and freshness of the “first impression,” which allows them to capture what is uniquely characteristic of what they see, without going into individual details. Depicting the world as an ever-changing optical phenomenon, I. does not strive to emphasize its constant, deep qualities. Knowledge of the world in art is based mainly on sophisticated observation and the visual experience of the artist, who uses the laws of natural optical perception to achieve artistic persuasiveness of the work. The process of this perception, its dynamics are reflected in the structure of the work, which, in turn, actively directs the course of the viewer’s perception of the picture. However, the emphatic empiricism of the artistic method, which related it to naturalism, sometimes led representatives of artistic expression to self-sufficient visual-picturesque experiments that limited the possibilities of artistic cognition of the essential moments of reality. In general, the works of the Impressionists are distinguished by their cheerfulness and passion for the sensual beauty of the world; and only some works by Degas and Manet contain bitter, sarcastic notes.

For the first time, the Impressionists create a multifaceted picture of the everyday life of a modern city, conveying the originality of its landscape and the appearance of the people inhabiting it, their way of life and, less often, their work; in I. the theme of specifically urban entertainment also appears. At the same time, in the art of I. the moment of social criticism is weakening. Striving for a truthful depiction of everyday nature close to people, impressionist landscape painters (especially Pissarro and Sisley) developed the traditions of the Barbizon school. Continuing the plein air (see Plein air) searches of J. Constable, the Barbizons, as well as C. Corot, E. Boudin and J. B. Jongkind, the impressionists developed a complete plein air system. In their landscapes, an everyday motif is often transformed by pervasive, moving sunlight, introducing a sense of festivity into the picture. Working on a painting directly in the open air made it possible to reproduce nature in all its real liveliness, subtly analyze and instantly capture its transitional states, capture the slightest changes in color that appear under the influence of a vibrating and fluid light-air environment (organically uniting man and nature), which sometimes it becomes an independent object of image in I. (mainly in the works of Monet). To preserve the freshness and variety of colors of nature in the picture, the Impressionists (with the exception of Degas) created a painting system that is distinguished by the decomposition of complex tones into pure colors and the interpenetration of separate strokes of pure color, as if mixing in the viewer’s eye, a light and bright color scheme, and a richness of values. and reflexes, colored shadows. Volumetric forms seem to dissolve in the light-air shell enveloping them, dematerialize, acquire unsteady outlines: the play of various brushstrokes, impasto and liquid, gives the paint layer tremulousness and relief; thereby creating a peculiar impression of incompleteness, the formation of an image before the eyes of a person contemplating the canvas. All this is connected with the artist’s desire to preserve in the painting the effect of improvisation, which in the previous era was allowed only in sketches and which usually disappeared when they were processed into finished works; Thus, in I. there is a convergence of the sketch and the painting, and often the merging of several stages of work into one continuous process. An impressionistic painting is a separate frame, a fragment of a moving world. This explains, on the one hand, the equivalence of all parts of the picture, simultaneously born under the artist’s brush and equally participating in the figurative construction of the work; on the other hand, there are apparent randomness and imbalance, asymmetry of composition, bold cuts of figures, unexpected points of view and complex angles that activate spatial construction; Losing depth, space sometimes “turns out” onto a plane or goes to infinity. In certain techniques of constructing composition and space, the influence of Japanese engraving and partly photography is noticeable.

By the mid-1880s. Art, having exhausted its capabilities as an integral system and a single direction, disintegrates, giving impulses for the subsequent evolution of art. I. introduced new themes into art, comprehending the aesthetic significance of many aspects of reality. The works of mature I. are distinguished by their bright and immediate vitality. At the same time, painting is also characterized by the identification of aesthetic intrinsic value and new expressive possibilities of color, an emphasized aestheticization of the method of execution, and the exposure of the formal structure of the work; It is these features, just emerging in I., that receive further development in neo-impressionism and post-impressionism. In the 1880≈1910s. I. had a significant influence on many painters from other countries (M. Lieberman, L. Corinth in Germany; K. A. Korovin, V. A. Serov, I. E. Grabar, early M. V. Larionov in Russia, etc. ), which manifested itself in the development of new aspects of reality, in mastering the effects of plein air, brightening the palette, sketchy manner, and mastering certain technical techniques. Some of the principles of sculpture—transmission of instantaneous movement and fluidity of form—were reflected to varying degrees in the sculpture of the 1880s–1910s. (with E. Degas and O. Rodin in France, M. Rosso in Italy, P. P. Trubetskoy and A. S. Golubkina in Russia); at the same time, the increased picturesqueness of impressionistic sculpture sometimes came into conflict with the tactility and physicality inherent in the very nature of the sculptural image. The traditions of I. are palpable in many realistic movements in the art of the 20th century. I. in the fine arts had a certain influence on the formation of some principles of I. and on the development of expressive means in literature, music and theater; However, in these types of art, art did not become an integral artistic system of landmark significance.

In relation to literature, style is widely considered as a stylistic phenomenon that arose in the last third of the 19th century. and captured writers of various beliefs and methods, and narrowly ≈ as a movement with a certain method and a worldview that gravitated toward decadence, which developed at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The signs of the “impressionistic style” are the absence of a clearly defined form and the desire to convey the subject in fragmentary strokes that instantly capture each impression, which, however, when reviewing the whole, revealed their hidden unity and connection. As a special style, I., with his principle of the value of the first impression, made it possible to conduct the narrative through details that were, as it were, grabbed at random, which apparently violated the strict consistency of the narrative plan and the principle of selecting the essential, but with their “lateral” truth imparted extraordinary brightness to the story and freshness, and the artistic idea - unexpected ramifications and diversity. Remaining a stylistic phenomenon, I. did not mean, especially among great writers (for example, A. P. Chekhov, I. A. Bunin, etc.), a breakdown of the artistic principles of realism, but was reflected in the enrichment of these principles and the steadily increasing art of description (for example , Chekhov’s description of a thunderstorm in the story “Steppe”; features of I. in Chekhov’s style were noted by L. N. Tolstoy). By the beginning of the 20th century. Several stylistic varieties of painting arose on a common realistic basis. The brothers J. and E. Goncourt (“poets of nerves,” “connoisseurs of imperceptible sensations”) were the founders of “psychological psychology,” the sophisticated technique of which can be observed in K. Hamsun’s novel “Hunger” and in the early T. Mann (in short stories) , S. Zweig, in the lyrics of I. F. Annensky. “Plein air”, reverent picturesqueness is felt in the same Goncourt brothers, in E. Zola in the style of descriptions of Paris (“Page of Love”), in the Danish writer E. P. Jacobsen (in the short story “Mogens”); The German poet D. von Lilienkron vividly expresses lyrical situations using impressionistic technique (including syntax and rhythm). The English neo-romantic writers R. L. Stevenson and J. Conrad developed the exotic colorful properties of I.; their style was continued in later literature on “southern” themes, right up to the stories of S. Maugham. In P. Verlaine’s “Romances without Words,” the trembling of the soul and the picturesque flicker (“the shades alone captivate us”) are accompanied by a musical mood, and his poem “Poetic Art” (1874, published 1882) sounds both as a manifesto of poetic history and as a harbinger of the poetics of symbolism.

Subsequently, Hamsun and some other writers of the early 20th century. I., to a lesser or greater extent, is isolated from realistic principles and turns into a special vision and attitude (or method) - a vague, indefinite subjectivism, partially anticipating the literature of the “stream of consciousness” (the work of M. Proust). Such I., with his “philosophy of the moment,” questioned the semantic and moral foundations of life. The cult of “impression” locked man into himself; Only that which is fleeting, elusive, inexpressible by anything except sensations became valuable and the only real. The fluid moods revolved predominantly around the theme of "love and death"; the artistic image was built on unsteady understatements and vague hints that lifted the “veil” over the fatal play of unconscious elements in human life. Decadent motifs are characteristic of the Viennese school of I. (G. Bar; A. Schnitzler, especially his one-act plays “The Green Parrot”, 1899, “Marionettes”, 1906, etc.), in Poland - for J. Kasprowicz, K. Tetmaier . The influence of I. was experienced, for example, by O. Wilde, G. von Hofmannsthal (lyrics, including “The Ballad of External Life”; drama-libretto), in Russian literature by B.K. Zaitsev (psychological sketches), K.D. Balmont (with his lyrics of “fleetingness”). By the middle of the 20th century. I. as an independent method has exhausted itself.

Application of the term "I." to music is largely conditional - musical art is not a direct analogy to art in painting and does not coincide with it chronologically (its heyday was ≈ the 90s of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century). The main thing in musical painting is the transmission of moods that acquire the meaning of symbols, subtle psychological nuances, and a tendency toward poetic landscape programming. He is also characterized by refined fantasy, poeticization of antiquity, exoticism, and an interest in timbre and harmonic beauty. What he has in common with I.’s main line in painting is his enthusiastic attitude towards life; moments of acute conflicts and social contradictions are avoided in it. Musical music found its classical expression in the works of C. Debussy; its features also appeared in the music of M. Ravel, P. Dukas, F. Schmitt, J. J. Roger-Ducas and other French composers.

Musical music inherited many features of the art of late romanticism and national music schools of the 19th century. (“The Mighty Handful”, F. Liszt, E. Grieg, etc.). At the same time, the impressionists contrasted the clear relief of contours, extreme materiality and oversaturation of the musical palette of the late romantics with the art of restrained emotions and transparent, meager texture, and the fluent changeability of images.

The work of impressionist composers greatly enriched the expressive means of music, especially the sphere of harmony, which reached great beauty and sophistication; the complication of chord complexes is combined in it with the simplification and archaization of modal thinking; The orchestration is dominated by pure colors, capricious highlights, and the rhythms are unsteady and elusive. The colorfulness of modal harmonic and timbre means comes to the fore: the expressive meaning of each sound and chord is enhanced, and previously unknown possibilities for expanding the modal sphere are revealed. The music of the Impressionists was given a special freshness by their frequent use of song and dance genres, elements of the musical language of the peoples of the East, Spain, and early forms of black jazz.

At the beginning of the 20th century. musical history spread beyond France. It was originally developed by M. de Falla in Spain, A. Casella and O. Respighi in Italy. Original features are inherent in English musical history with its “northern” landscape (F. Delius) or spicy exoticism (S. Scott). In Poland, the exotic line of musical art was represented by K. Szymanowski (until 1920), who gravitated towards ultra-refined images of antiquity and the Ancient East. The influence of Indian aesthetics at the turn of the 20th century. was also experienced by some Russian composers, in particular A. N. Scriabin, who was simultaneously influenced by symbolism; In line with Russian music, which was intricately combined with the influence of the school of N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, I. F. Stravinsky began his career, and in subsequent years he led the anti-impressionist trend in Western European music.

O. V. Mamontova (I. in fine arts), I. V. Nestyev (I. in music).

In the theater of the late 19th ≈ early 20th centuries. The attention of directors and performers to conveying the atmosphere of the action, the mood of a particular scene, and revealing its subtext has increased. At the same time, the authenticity and meaningfulness of life were conveyed with the help of deliberately cursory characteristics in combination with individual clearly expressive details that revealed the hero’s obscured experiences, his thoughts, and the impulses of his actions. Sudden changes in rhythms, the use of sounds, picturesque and color spots were used by the director to create a certain emotional intensity in the performance, thereby revealing the internal increase in drama hidden behind the course of everyday life. I.'s expressive means were used in productions by A. Antoine (France), M. Reinhardt (Germany), V. E. Meyerhold (Russia), and in performances of the Moscow Art Theater (for example, in productions of plays by A. P. Chekhov). Contemporaries noted the traits of I. in the performances of G. Réjean (France), E. Duse (Italy), V. F. Komissarzhevskaya and other actors.

T. M. Rodina.

Lit.: Mockler K., Impressionism. His history, his aesthetics, his masters, trans. from French, M., ; Meyer-Graefe Yu., Impressionists, trans. from German, M., 1913; Venturi L., From Manet to Lautrec, trans. from Italian, M., 1958; Rewald J., History of Impressionism, trans. from English, L.≈M., 1959; Impressionism, trans. from French, L., 1969; Chegodaev A.D., Impressionists, M., 1971; Bazin G., L'époque impressionniste, 2 ed., P., 1953; Leymarie J., L'impressionisme, v. 1≈2, Gen., 1959; Danckert W., Das Wesen des musikalischen Impressionismus, “Deutsche Vierteljiahrsschrift für Literaturwissenschaft und Geistesgeschichte”, 1929, Bd 7, N. 1; Koelsch N. F., Der Impressionismus bei Debussy, Düsseldorf, 1937 (Diss.); Schulz H.≈G., Musikalischer Impressionismus und impressionistischer Klavierstil, Würzburg, 1938; Kroher E., Impressionismus in der Musik, Lpz., 1957.

Wikipedia

Impressionism

Impressionism(, from impression- impression) - a movement in the art of the last third of the 19th - early 20th centuries, which originated in France and then spread throughout the world, whose representatives sought to develop methods and techniques that made it possible to most naturally and vividly capture the real world in its mobility and variability, to convey their fleeting impressions. Usually the term “impressionism” refers to a direction in painting, although its ideas were also embodied in literature and music, where impressionism also appeared in a certain set of methods and techniques for creating literary and musical works in which the authors sought to convey life in a sensual, direct form , as a reflection of your impressions.

The term “impressionism” arose from the light hand of the critic of the magazine “Le Charivari” Louis Leroy, who entitled his feuilleton about the Salon of Rejects “Exhibition of the Impressionists”, taking as a basis the title of the painting “Impression. The Rising Sun by Claude Monet. Initially, this term was somewhat disparaging and indicated a corresponding attitude towards artists who painted in this manner.

Impressionism (disambiguation)

Impressionism

  • Impressionism- direction in art.
  • Impressionism is a musical movement.
  • Impressionism is a movement in cinema.
  • Impressionism is a literary style.

Impressionism (music)

Musical impressionism- a musical movement similar to impressionism in painting and parallel to symbolism in literature, which developed in France in the last quarter of the 19th century - the beginning of the 20th century, primarily in the works of Erik Satie, Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel.

The starting point of “impressionism” in music can be considered 1886-1887, when the first impressionistic works of Erik Satie were published in Paris - and as a result, five years later, the first works of Claude Debussy in the new style received resonance in the professional environment (most notably, "Afternoon of a Faun").

Impressionism (literature)

Impressionism in literature- one of the literary styles that spread throughout the world at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, based on associations.

Appeared under the influence of the European artistic style of the same name. It developed in many European countries, including Russia.

In literature, this style did not develop as a separate direction, and its features were reflected in naturalism and symbolism. The main features of the impressionist style were formulated by the Goncourt brothers in their work “Diary”, where the phrase: “Seeing, feeling, expressing - this is all art”, has become a central position for many writers.

Impressionism is expressed in the novels of Emile Zola. Also representatives of impressionism in literature are Thomas Mann, Oscar Wilde, Stefan Zweig. An example of poetic impressionism is Paul Verlaine's collection “Romances without Words” (1874). In Russia, Konstantin Balmont and Innokenty Annensky experienced the influence of impressionism.

The mood of impressionism also affected dramaturgy (impressionist drama), where passive perception of the world, analysis of moods, mental states invaded plays, and scattered impressions were concentrated in dialogues. These features are reflected in the works of Arthur Schnitzler, Maurice Maeterlinck, and Hugo von Hofmannstl.

Impressionism in literature in particular, and in art in general, lost its importance in the mid-1920s.

Impressionism (cinema)

Impressionism in cinema- current in cinema.

Cinema, being a visual art, like painting, became a successor to the traditions of French impressionist artists at the beginning of the 20th century. It appeared under the influence of the painting style of the same name and also developed mainly in France.

The term "film impressionism" was coined by Henri Langlois, a French film enthusiast, and was actively used by film theorist Georges Sadoul. The French director and actor Abel Gance is considered a representative of film impressionism. A photogenic vision of reality and a visual reflection of psychological emotions became the programmatic concept of the new movement, formulated by Louis Delluc. Actress Eva Francis, Delluc's wife, played in many Impressionist films, including "Fever" (1921) and "The Woman from Nowhere" (1922) by Delluc and "Eldorado" (1921) by L'Herbier.

Film impressionists believed that cinema should speak to the viewer in its own language, using only its own set of expressive means. They made significant contributions to the theory and aesthetics of cinema. In the early 1920s, articles appeared in periodicals and books about the specifics of film impressionism, the composition of the film image in it, and rhythm in cinema.

Examples of the use of the word impressionism in literature.

The passion for photography was, of course, inherent in the Japanese long before the invention of Daguerre - spiritual impressionism, the desire to capture the moment.

This music is the younger sister of the poetic symbolism of Verlaine and Laforgue and impressionism in painting.

On the steps they exchanged opinions, bad words flashed: impressionism, post impressionism and even symbolism.

This is the opposition of a camera obscura, working according to the Cartesian laws of linear perspective, impressionism with its spreading of the color layer over the surface, it is extremely significant.

Germany, which gave the world Dürer and Cranach, was unable to produce a single outstanding master in the field of modern fine art, although German expressionism in painting and the Munich urban school in architecture were interesting and original trends, and German artists reflected in their work all the evolutions and ups , which were typical for impressionism, Cubism and Dadaism.

This political impressionism, naturally, does not do honor to opposition analytical minds.

Scenic style impressionism consists in denying the external form of real things and reproducing their internal form - a polychrome mass.

Although Ravel is rightly called an impressionist composer, the characteristic features impressionism manifested itself only in some of his works, while in the rest, classical clarity and proportionality of structures, purity of style, clarity of lines and jewelery in the finishing of details prevail.

Subsequently, the composer attacked the epigones impressionism, contrasting its vagueness and sophistication with the clarity, simplicity, and rigor of linear writing.

But this was not the only thing that connected the Polish composer with the French impressionism: the years of the First World War date back to the formation of Szymanowski’s new style, a more modern harmonic language that no longer fits into the framework of classical-romantic harmony.

Debussy has many things in common with the picturesque impressionism: self-sufficient beauty of elusive, fluidly moving moments, love of landscape, airy trepidation of space.

It is no coincidence that Debussy is considered the main representative impressionism in music.

Impressionism is one of the most famous movements of French painting, if not the most famous. And it originated in the late 60s and early 70s of the 19th century and largely influenced the further development of art of that time.

Impressionism in painting

The name itself " impressionism" was coined by a French art critic named Louis Leroy after attending the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874, where he criticized Claude Monet's painting Impression: The Rising Sun ("impression" translated into French as "impression").

Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Edgar Degas, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Frederic Bazille are the main representatives of impressionism.

Impressionism in painting is characterized by fast, spontaneous and free strokes. The guiding principle was a realistic depiction of the light-air environment.

The impressionists sought to capture fleeting moments on canvas. If at this very moment an object appears in an unnatural color, due to a certain angle of incidence of light or its reflection, then the artist depicts it that way: for example, if the sun paints the surface of a pond pink, then it will be painted in pink.

Features of impressionism

Speaking about the main features of impressionism, it is necessary to name the following:

  • immediate and optically accurate image of a fleeting moment;
  • doing all the work outdoors - no more preparatory sketches and finishing work in the studio;

  • using pure color on the canvas, without pre-mixing on the palette;
  • the use of splashes of bright paint, strokes of varying sizes and degrees of sweep, which visually add up to one picture only when viewed from a distance.

Russian impressionism

The standard portrait in this style is considered to be one of the masterpieces of Russian painting - “Girl with Peaches” by Alexander Serov, for whom impressionism, however, became just a period of passion. Russian impressionism also includes works by Konstantin Korovin, Abram Arkhipov, Philip Malyavin, Igor Grabar and other artists written at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries.

This affiliation is rather conditional, since Russian and classical French impressionism have their own specifics. Russian impressionism was closer to the materiality, objectivity of works, and gravitated towards artistic meaning, while French impressionism, as mentioned above, simply sought to depict moments of life, without unnecessary philosophy.

In fact, Russian impressionism adopted from the French only the external side of the style, the techniques of its painting, but never assimilated the very pictorial thinking invested in impressionism.

Modern impressionism continues the traditions of classical French impressionism. In modern painting of the 21st century, many artists work in this direction, for example, Laurent Parselier, Karen Tarleton, Diana Leonard and others.

Masterpieces in the style of impressionism

"Terrace at Sainte-Adresse" (1867), Claude Monet

This painting can be called Monet's first masterpiece. It is still the most popular painting of early impressionism. The artist’s favorite theme is also present here - flowers and the sea. The canvas depicts several people relaxing on the terrace on a sunny day. Relatives of Monet himself are depicted on chairs with their backs to the audience.

The whole picture is flooded with bright sunlight. Clear boundaries between land, sky and sea are separated, organizing the composition vertically with the help of two flagpoles, but the composition does not have a clear center. The colors of the flags are combined with the surrounding nature, emphasizing the diversity and richness of colors.

"Bal at the Moulin de la Galette" (1876), Pierre Auguste Renoir

This painting depicts a typical Sunday afternoon in 19th-century Paris at the Moulin de la Galette, a café with an outdoor dance floor whose name corresponds to the name of the mill that is located nearby and is the symbol of Montmartre. Renoir's house was located next to this cafe; he often attended Sunday afternoon dances and enjoyed watching happy couples.

Renoir demonstrates true talent and combines the art of group portraiture, still life and landscape painting in one painting. The use of light in this composition and the smoothness of the brushstrokes best represent the style to the general viewer. impressionism. This painting became one of the most expensive paintings ever sold at auction.

"Boulevard Montmartre at Night" (1897), Camille Pissarro

Although Pissarro is famous for his paintings of rural life, he also painted a large number of beautiful urban scenes in 19th century Paris. He loved to paint the city because of the play of light during the day and evening, because of the roads illuminated by both sunlight and street lamps.

In 1897, he rented a room on the Boulevard Montmartre and depicted him at different times of the day, and this work was the only work in the series captured after night had fallen. The canvas is filled with deep blue color and bright yellow spots of city lights. In all the paintings of the “boulevard” cycle, the main core of the composition is the road stretching into the distance.

The painting is now in the National Gallery in London, but during Pissarro’s lifetime it was never exhibited anywhere.

You can watch a video about the history and conditions of creativity of the main representatives of impressionism here:

Impressionism is a movement in painting that originated in France in the 19th-20th centuries, representing an artistic attempt to capture a moment of life in all its variability and mobility. Impressionist paintings are like a well-washed photograph, reviving in fantasy the continuation of the story seen. In this article we will look at the 10 most famous impressionists in the world. Fortunately, there are many more than ten, twenty or even a hundred talented artists, so let's focus on those names that you definitely need to know.

In order not to offend either the artists or their admirers, the list is given in Russian alphabetical order.

1. Alfred Sisley

This French painter of English origin is considered the most famous landscape painter of the second half of the 19th century. His collection contains more than 900 paintings, of which the most famous are “Rural Alley”, “Frost in Louveciennes”, “Bridge in Argenteuil”, “Early Snow in Louveciennes”, “Lawns in Spring”, and many others.

2. Van Gogh

Known throughout the world for the sad story about his ear (by the way, he did not cut off his entire ear, but only the lobe), Van Gon became popular only after his death. And during his life he was able to sell one single painting, 4 months before his death. They say he was both an entrepreneur and a priest, but often ended up in psychiatric hospitals due to depression, so all the rebellion of his existence resulted in legendary works.

3. Camille Pissarro

Pissarro was born on the island of St. Thomas, into a family of bourgeois Jews, and was one of the few impressionists whose parents encouraged his passion and soon sent him to Paris to study. Most of all, the artist liked nature, which is what he depicted in all colors, and to be more precise, Pissarro had a special talent for selecting the softness of colors and compatibility, after which air seemed to appear in the paintings.

4. Claude Monet

Since childhood, the boy decided that he would become an artist, despite family prohibitions. Having moved to Paris on his own, Claude Monet plunged into the gray everyday life of a hard life: two years of service in the armed forces in Algeria, litigation with creditors due to poverty and illness. However, one gets the feeling that the difficulties did not oppress, but, on the contrary, inspired the artist to create such vivid paintings as “Impression, Sunrise”, “Houses of Parliament in London”, “Bridge to Europe”, “Autumn in Argenteuil”, “On the Shore” Trouville", and many others.

5. Konstantin Korovin

It's nice to know that among the French, the parents of impressionism, we can proudly place our compatriot, Konstantin Korovin. A passionate love for nature helped him intuitively give unimaginable liveliness to a static picture, thanks to the combination of suitable colors, the width of strokes, and the choice of theme. It is impossible to pass by his paintings “Pier in Gurzuf”, “Fish, Wine and Fruit”, “Autumn Landscape”, “Moonlit Night. Winter" and a series of his works dedicated to Paris.

6. Paul Gauguin

Until the age of 26, Paul Gauguin did not even think about painting. He was an entrepreneur and had a large family. However, when I first saw the paintings of Camille Pissarro, I decided that I would definitely start painting. Over time, the artist’s style changed, but the most famous impressionistic paintings are “Garden in the Snow”, “At the Cliff”, “On the Beach in Dieppe”, “Nude”, “Palm Trees in Martinique” and others.

7. Paul Cezanne

Cezanne, unlike most of his colleagues, became famous during his lifetime. He managed to organize his own exhibition and earn considerable income from it. People knew a lot about his paintings - he, like no one else, learned to combine the play of light and shadow, placed a strong emphasis on regular and irregular geometric shapes, the severity of the theme of his paintings was in harmony with romance.

8. Pierre Auguste Renoir

Until the age of 20, Renoir worked as a fan decorator for his older brother, and only then moved to Paris, where he met Monet, Basil and Sisley. This acquaintance helped him in the future to take the path of impressionism and become famous on it. Renoir is known as the author of sentimental portraits, among his most outstanding works are “On the Terrace”, “A Walk”, “Portrait of the Actress Jeanne Samary”, “The Lodge”, “Alfred Sisley and His Wife”, “On the Swing”, “The Paddling Pool” and a lot others.

9. Edgar Degas

If you haven’t heard anything about “Blue Dancers”, “Ballet Rehearsal”, “Ballet School” and “Absinthe”, hurry up and find out about the work of Edgar Degas. The selection of original colors, unique themes for paintings, the sense of movement of the picture - all this and much more made Degas one of the most famous artists in the world.

10. Edouard Manet

Do not confuse Manet with Monet - these are two different people who worked at the same time and in the same artistic direction. Manet was always attracted to scenes of everyday life, unusual appearances and types, as if accidentally “caught” moments, subsequently captured for centuries. Among Manet’s famous paintings: “Olympia”, “Luncheon on the Grass”, “Bar at the Folies Bergere”, “The Flutist”, “Nana” and others.

If you have even the slightest opportunity to see the paintings of these masters live, you will forever fall in love with impressionism!

Impressionism (from the French " impression" - impression) is a direction in art (literature, painting, architecture), it appeared at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries in France and quickly became widespread in other countries of the world. Followers of the new direction, who believed that academic, traditional techniques, for example, in painting or architecture, cannot fully convey the fullness and smallest details of the surrounding world, switched to using completely new techniques and methods, first of all in painting, then in literature and music. They made it possible to most vividly and naturally depict all the mobility and variability of the real world by conveying not its photographic appearance, but through the prism of the impressions and emotions of the authors about what they saw.

The author of the term “impressionism” is considered to be the French critic and journalist Louis Leroy, who, impressed by his visit to the exhibition of a group of young artists “The Salon of the Rejected” in 1874 in Paris, calls them in his feuilleton impressionists, a kind of “impressionists”, and this statement is somewhat dismissive and ironic character. The basis for the name of this term was the painting by Claude Monet “Impression” seen by a critic. Rising Sun". And although at first many of the paintings at this exhibition were subject to sharp criticism and rejection, later this direction received wider public recognition and became popular throughout the world.

Impressionism in painting

(Claude Monet "Boats on the Beach")

The new style, manner and technique of depiction were not invented by French impressionist artists out of nowhere; it was based on the experience and achievements of the most talented painters of the Renaissance: Rubens, Velazquez, El Greco, Goya. From them, the impressionists took such methods of more vividly and vividly conveying the surrounding world or expressiveness of weather conditions as the use of intermediate tones, the use of techniques of bright or, on the contrary, dull strokes, large or small, characterized by abstractness. Adherents of the new direction in painting either completely abandoned the traditional academic manner of drawing, or completely remade the methods and methods of depiction in their own way, introducing such innovations as:

  • Objects, objects or figures were depicted without a contour, it was replaced by small and contrasting strokes;
  • A palette was not used to mix colors; colors were selected that complement each other and do not require merging. Sometimes the paint was squeezed onto the canvas directly from a metal tube, creating a pure, sparkling color with a brushstroke effect;
  • Virtual absence of black color;
  • The canvases were mostly painted outdoors, from nature, in order to more vividly and expressively convey their emotions and impressions of what they saw;
  • The use of paints with high covering power;
  • Applying fresh strokes directly onto the still wet surface of the canvas;
  • Creating cycles of paintings to study changes in light and shadow (“Haystacks” by Claude Monet);
  • Lack of depiction of pressing social, philosophical or religious issues, historical or significant events. The works of the impressionists are filled with positive emotions, there is no place for gloom and heavy thoughts, there is only lightness, joy and beauty of every moment, sincerity of feelings and frankness of emotions.

(Edouard Manet "Reading")

And although not all artists of this movement adhered to particular precision in the execution of all the precise features of the impressionist style (Edouard Manet positioned himself as an individual artist and never participated in joint exhibitions (there were 8 in total from 1874 to 1886). Edgar Degas created only in his own workshop) this did not stop them from creating masterpieces of fine art, which are still stored in the best museums and private collections around the world.

Russian impressionist artists

Impressed by the creative ideas of the French impressionists, Russian artists at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century created their original masterpieces of fine art, later known under the general name “Russian impressionism”.

(V. A. Serov "Girl with Peaches")

Its most prominent representatives are Konstantin Korovin (“Portrait of a Chorus Girl”, 1883, “Northern Idyll” 1886), Valentin Serov (“Open Window. Lilac”, 1886, “Girl with Peaches”, 1887), Arkhip Kuindzhi ( “North”, 1879, “Dnieper in the morning” 1881), Abram Arkhipov (“North Sea”, “Landscape. Study with a log house”), “late” impressionist Igor Grabar (“Birch Alley”, 1940, “Winter Landscape” , 1954).

(Borisov-Musatov "Autumn Song")

The methods and manner of depiction inherent in impressionism took place in the works of such outstanding Russian artists as Borisov-Musatov, Bogdanov Belsky, Nilus. The classical canons of French impressionism in the paintings of Russian artists have undergone some changes, as a result of which this direction has acquired a unique national specificity.

Foreign impressionists

One of the first works executed in the style of impressionism is considered to be Edouard Manet’s painting “Luncheon on the Grass,” which was exhibited to the public in 1860 at the Paris “Salon of the Rejected,” where canvases that did not pass the selection of the Paris Salon of Arts could be dismantled. The painting, painted in a style that was radically different from the traditional manner of depiction, aroused a lot of critical comments and rallied followers of the new artistic movement around the artist.

(Edouard Manet "In the Tavern of Father Lathuile")

The most famous impressionist artists include Edouard Manet (“Bar at the Folies-Bergere”, “Music in the Tuileries”, “Breakfast on the Grass”, “At Father Lathuile’s”, “Argenteuil”), Claude Monet (“Field of Poppies at Argenteuil” ", "Walk to the Cliff at Pourville", "Women in the Garden", "Lady with an Umbrella", "Boulevard des Capucines", series of works "Water Lilies", "Impression. Rising Sun"), Alfred Sisley ("Rural Alley" , “Frost at Louveciennes”, “Bridge at Argenteuil”, “Early Snow at Louveciennes”, “Lawns in Spring”), Pierre Auguste Renoir (“Breakfast of the Rowers”, “Ball at the Moulin de la Galette”, “Dance in the Country”, “Umbrellas”, “Dance at Bougival”, “Girls at the Piano”), Camille Pizarro (“Boulevard Montmartre at Night”, “Harvest at Eragny”, “Reapers Resting”, “Garden at Pontoise”, “Entering the Village of Voisin”) , Edgar Degas (“Dance Class”, “Rehearsal”, “Concert at the Ambassador Café”, “Opera Orchestra”, “Dancers in Blue”, “Absinthe Lovers”), Georges Seurat (“Sunday Afternoon”, “Cancan”, "Models") and others.

(Paul Cezanne "Pierrot and Harlequin"")

Four artists in the 90s of the 19th century created a new direction in art based on impressionism and called themselves post-impressionists (Paul Gauguin, Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Cezanne, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec). Their work is characterized by the transmission not of fleeting sensations and impressions from the world around them, but by the knowledge of the true essence of things, which is hidden under their outer shell. Their most famous works: Paul Gauguin ("A Naughty Joke", "La Orana Maria", "Jacob's Wrestling with the Angel", "Yellow Christ"), Paul Cezanne ("Pierrot and Harlequin", "Great Bathers", "Lady in Blue" "), Vincent Van Gogh (Starry Night, Sunflowers, Irises), Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (The Laundress, Toilet, Dance Training at the Moulin Rouge).

Impressionism in sculpture

(Auguste Rodin "The Thinker")

Impressionism did not develop as a separate direction in architecture; one can find its individual features and characteristics in some sculptural compositions and monuments. This style gives sculpture free plastic soft forms, they create an amazing play of light on the surface of the figures and give some feeling of incompleteness; sculptural characters are often depicted at the moment of movement. Works in this direction include sculptures by the famous French sculptor Auguste Rodin (“The Kiss”, “The Thinker”, “Poet and Muse”, “Romeo and Juliet”, “Eternal Spring”), Italian artist and sculptor Medardo Rosso (figures made of clay and plaster filled with wax to achieve a unique lighting effect: “The Gatekeeper and the Matchmaker”, “The Golden Age”, “Motherhood”), the Russian genius nugget Pavel Trubetskoy (bronze bust of Leo Tolstoy, monument to Alexander III in St. Petersburg).