BLOG 4: Impressionism and Postimpressionism
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Starry Night
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I really enjoyed studying the Impressionist Era. The paintings look like rain drops of color splashed on to a page with an under watery haze but when you step back and look at the whole painting it actually depicts something; its amazing. It seems that creating an impressionist piece would be much harder than a classical one because it would require more creativity and vision, and one would have to stretch their imagination and mind in order to see the world with an impressionist view point.
Impression, Sunrise, 1872 by Claude Monet is an example of what I find so fascinating about Impressionism because of the colors and the way the light is presented; it makes me feel like I am there and seeing the scenery myself. The visible paint strokes and dashing colors seem more real to me than classical art because they lack the perfection and staged timing of classical painting. Impressionism captured the elusive moment in a way the classical painting captures an object. I also liked Postimpressionism because it verges even more into the imagination, creating a dream world with bright colors and blended contrasts. I am sure everyone has seen the painting
Starry Night, 1888 by Vincent Van Gough, which is my favorite Postimpressionist painting. Growing up a copy of this was hanging in my living room, and I have spent many hours looking at it.
Starry Night, Vincent van Gogh, 1881: http://www.theintellectualdevotional.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/van-gogh-vincent-starry-night-7900566.jpg
Impression Sunrise, Claude Monet, 1872: http://www.monetalia.com/paintings/large/monet-impression-sunrise.jpg
Categories: Uncategorized
10 responses so far ↓
jsmit150 // July 6, 2009 at 11:41 pm
I enjoyed your reaction and opinions of Impressionistic paintings. I really like them myself. I also think that they would take a lot of work. It is amazing how the eye renders the colors as you step away. The information you provided is accurate and the works are cited. I think that you did good work. How would you compare Impressionistic paintings to that of other styles in the Romantic Era?
shamartist // July 7, 2009 at 11:34 am
I am glad that you can find things about Impressionism that you like, I myself cannot stand it. You presented everything in the post that was supposed to be there. Although I completely disagree with you about Impressionism needing more creativity and vision than other forms of art. I think it is far more of a challenge to make art understandable and still capture the imagination than to just make it a mystery to everyone except the artist.
fsant6 // July 7, 2009 at 1:29 pm
I personally like the impressionism and post-impressionism due to the style and tone of the paintings. I personally like what you said quote “I find so fascinating about Impressionism because of the colors and the way the light is presented; it makes me feel like I am there and seeing the scenery myself. The visible paint strokes and dashing colors seem more real to me than classical art because they lack the perfection and staged timing of classical painting”.
tmsaunders // July 8, 2009 at 6:27 am
I really liked your review! The way you describe the paintings is dead-on: water, splotches of colour that only when viewed from afar make up something incredible. I have always wondered why ‘Starry Night’ was so mesmerizing, and I think that it’s because it’s not a depiction of a night sky, but what a night sky in a dream would appear as. Like you said, it’s not about a realistic depiction of something, but rather what the imagination can create with the inspiration. Good job, I really liked this post, it was well thought out.
Kristi Wilmes // July 8, 2009 at 7:03 pm
I really enjoyed your viewpoint on the Impressionist era of painting. I also enjoy this style of art over the Classical Era. Your descriptive wording was very creative, especially the comment “The paintings look like rain drops of color splashed on to a page with an under watery haze but when you step back and look at the whole painting it actually depicts something; its amazing”. It really helped me as a reader to understand how you view this type of art. I think your factual information was done well and your opinion on both Impressionism and Post-Impressionism were clear. It’s nice that you had Starry Night hanging up in your living room when you were growing up…do you plan on having one in your living room eventually?
Knack Attack // July 10, 2009 at 3:53 pm
What do they say about great minds thinking alike? It seems these pieces are favorites of more than a few of us. Starry Night is so well known its almost overdone-yet-everyone that loves Van Gogh and his work knows this painting. I like your descriptions of the way this type of art made you feel as well as how it looked to you. While I never thought of classical as being: “staged timing”, there is a marked difference between the way the styles are represented. Your factual information is complete and your descriptions verge on the poetic.
Knack Attack // July 10, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Oops, here is my postscript…What was it about classical that felt staged to you?
artisanx // July 11, 2009 at 6:50 am
Your enthusiasm had me almost (at least temporarily) reconsidering my all-encompassing stance on Impressionism. I have admittedly never been a true fan of the style but if I had read your description before ever seeing an Impressionist piece, I might have approached the era with more of an open mind.
I can certainly appreciate the sense of one grasping at fleeting beauty – that “elusive” moment you spoke of, but I fear I will forever find myself hanging up on the appearance of “incompleteness” that one finds in most Impressionist offerings.
I have wondered and would like to pose the question, could an Impressionist painter have made a living at any other, earlier, time in artistic history? Would they have been seen as visionary by the viewing public or would they have been passed over as “lazy” artists not willing to bring a piece to the level of detail found in, say, a Classical, Baroque, or Ne0-Classical piece?
I think it’s probably safe to assume that Impressionism, at any other time, might not have made a lasting “impression”.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and giving me (arguably set in my artistic ways) something new to think about.
artisanx // July 11, 2009 at 6:52 am
P.S. You might want to check your settings to “auto-allow” comments without moderation to facilitate the class posting process. Thanks again.
heathermae05 // August 11, 2009 at 9:48 am
Blog #4~
I can agree with all of this. This was definitly an amazing time period for Art and paintings. The work was absolutley beautiful and just mind boggling in my eyes, of course coming from a person that can hardly draw a stick figure it just blows my mind that someone can create such beautiful pieces of work from a colored brush or pencil! I like the detail and the way the colors run together to create the “dramatic” or realistic affects. This was definitly a great time period for paintings and art!