Degas shows true Parisian modern life through paintings of the opera, racecourse and of the ballet. Degas represents a psychological quality of the subject of his paintings which show true emotion; he began to break free from academic connections. In 1877 Degas painted “The Rehearsal” which holds all the qualities of a true Impressionistic piece of art; it has keyhole composition, focus on light and tone and it is bought up with the human figure. The wonder of light models and silhouettes the figures from behind. In many of Degas paintings he has his subjects in very informal poses, such as stretching which gives the effect of being glimpsed in passing. Degas is very aware of the brushstrokes and texture which is show through the visible freedom of the brushstrokes. He inserts various bits of brilliant colour, he wants the sensation of colour to be in those places and draws our attention to them.
“L’absinthe” was painted in 1876 by Degas, it shows a raw emotional quality which had not been seen before. Degas shows us a moral painting about alcoholism, which shocked many people because of the harsh truth portrayed. There is partial keyhole composition and Japanese influence; it is very freely painted as we see at the top of the dress that is dabbed with colour.
New paints, thicker colours, new brushes and new equipments all aided the technical colour theory which was a key element to Impressionism. Plein Air painting was only possible with the new easels in boxes, and the paints were in useful tubes, which lead them to Plein Air. Plein Air was painting outdoors, particularly Monet and occasionally Renoir painted directly from nature. In 1480, if the painter wanted a blue he would of used Ultramarine from Afghanistan which was expensive, during the Impressionist period paints were cheaper and easier to get, which influenced the free use of colour to be seen in many of the paintings of this period.
Claude Monet (1840 – 1926), the most famous of Impressionist who painted from nature, did not go to L’ecole de Beaux Art. Seaside landscapes and Boudin influenced him greatly; he soon went to Paris to pick up the techniques of the Impressionist’s use of light and tone. The influence of Japanese Prints is obvious in the painting “Ladies in the Garden”. It was painted entirely outdoors and is about seven feet high and has the same keyhole composition which Japanese Prints had. Monet abandoned this type of work and started towards true Impressionism; he chose subjects that reflected light i.e. water, smoke, fog, mist and snow. In 1869 he painted “La Grenouillere” which was the first example of real intentional Impressionistic brushwork represented by the short, rapid strokes indicating the lively movement of the water; a lot of Impressionistic landscapes often include people, or showed the effect of man’s presence such as a bridge of path, where as here we see people floating in boats. The colours used are yellow, ocre, blue, white and black (plus a richer brown used to do some lines), this shows Monet’s understanding of the simple beauty of the limited palette.
“Autumn at Argenteuil” diluted by light uses larger brush strokes in foreground and they get smaller as they go into the background which creates perspective. Again, Monet used a limited palette with rich warm tones against cold icy tones. Monet paints and depicts the sensation of light looming towards you, and like all Impressionism he records the sensation of light and colour.
In 1877 Monet painted “Gare St Lazare” which he painted from different angles and different lights, this shows his flexibility and talent as an Impressionist painter. He uses steam and smoke to diffuse the light which morphed, twisted and disguised edges and lines. Monet then decided to explore light by producing a series of the Rouen Cathedral to show the visual qualities of the subject. He shows the phenomenon of the way light falls on the building depicting it at different times of the day, true Impressionistic work.
Edouard Manet (1832 – 83) was part of the bourgeoisie, unlike Monet who was very poor. In his painting, “Olympia” (1863) we see a girl depicted on a bed and looking like a prostitute waiting for a customer; the direct, upfront and realistic approach horrified the French. We see an influence of Titian’s “Venus of Urbino” and Goya’s “Nude Maja” and Japanese prints were clearly part of the underlying design; the clear silhouette and the slight modelling of the nude figure derive from Japanese prints. We see the contrast of extreme tones – the dominant variations of white, the black servant and the sudden, brilliant black of the ribbon round Olympia’s neck.
In Renoir’s “The Swing” we see a depiction of modern life set in the gardens of the rue Cortot in Montmartre where Renoir had been living since the spring. It is a good example of the principle of dominant colour – here obviously blue – and of the complementary opposite colours in the shadows. The dapple of sunlight plays an important part together with the softness of the edges.
In conclusion, the main influences of Impressionism are visible through looking at the paintings; keyhole composition, free brushstrokes, Japanese prints, limited palette, complementary colours, bright colours and the portrayal and depiction of light. Impressionism was a turning point for modern art; it influenced the traditional rules of art to be broken and set a standard of art which was to be followed by realism, post-impressionism and much more. Impressionism was a movement, a step forward from the elegant classicism to a more radical depiction of the world around and not an idealised one.
