Impressionism2

            Impressionism has had a vast impact on the world as it evoked the first artistic revolution since the Renaissance and enabled people to see their world with new eyes. The movement itself began in 1867 when a group of artists rebelled against the French academic style of painting and the drama of Romanticism. Impressionism is a modern 19th century painting style, one that interprets the effects of light on colour in the open air and captures a moment in time with its short brush strokes. This newfound style was received unfavourably at first; however, its popularity soon grew across the world and is widely accepted today.
                                                                History of Impressionism...

              Impressionism has influenced many, but it has also had a variety of influences itself with one its major stimuli being technology. Technology and its innovations have fundamentally shaped the art world and beyond. With the invention of the Internet and its liberating qualities, the possibilities for new art are endless. Art is an important aspect of our culture and education; therefore, it is important to be aware of technology's presence and explore how its existence in today's society will affect tomorrow's.
                                                                Impressionism and Technology...

Influences of Impressionism:
             Impressionisim was brought about by several factors of industrial Paris in the 1880s. Although, its initial purpose was to rebel against the French Salon, new technologies and previous art forms had fostered its creation as well.

The Color Wheel
                       Impressionists were concerned more with the effects of light on an object than with the exact representation of a form. The French chemist Eugene Chevreul (1786-1889) is noted for creating one of the most important developments in the 19th century, colour harmonies (Gage 1993). He saw that colours in the spectrum influenced and modified each other and in fact created new tones and hues. Using short brushstrokes, Impressionists were captivated in this theory of juxtaposing primary and complementary colours, which blended brilliant hues and luminous tones together when viewed from a distance. Their goal was to create a spontaneous, light-filled, colourful impression of what was in front of them and this is what was to revolutionize the definition of art.

Tube paint
             Impressionism is known for its beautiful outdoor scenes. These brave new artists broke away from the established tradition and left their dark studios to paint the world and its colours. Tube paint, an inspiring innovation, which was invented in 1841, enabled them to work outside and produce the enchanting scenes visible in their artwork today. Working in the open-air helped the Impressionists capture the changing colours in the sunlight. The principle artist, Monet, was fascinated with the changing light, he developed a series of paintings that captured the same subject matter during different times of the day and during different seasons. Examples of his fascination with light can be seen in his series of 15 paintings called Haystacks and in his series of the Rouen Cathedral. According to Renoir "Without tubes of paint, there would have been no Impressionism."

Photography
               Spontaneity is the idea of the camera and trying to capture the fleeting moment is also the origin of Impressionistic theories. While the first photographic images were taken around the year 1830, it took a while for the practice to become a little more refined and less expensive, but when it happened it sparked a revolution in how people dealt with images as communication. (Bommer 1997). Degas was particularly influenced by this technological revolution and demonstrated it in his paintings of his favorite theme The Ballet Dancer. He shows movement in his paintings by blurring out the edges of figures; suggesting that the scene is one which has been captured and will stand still forever in time.

Japanese Woodblock Prints
                Japanese Woodblock Prints created during the Japanese period of Edo are formally known as Ukiyo-e, which is translated in English as pictures of the floating world. These woodblock prints greatly influenced Impressionist artists such as Claude Monet, who collected prints by the famous Ukiyo-e artist Hokusai when they were imported to France at the turn of the 19th century. Ukiyo-e prints depicted the everyday world and used brighter palettes, thereby inspiring the Impressionists to paint their world, the way they saw it outside the dark studio (Fiorillo 1999). Their influence on specific Impressionist works is available through this link provided as a lecture by Dr. Larry Gleeson at the University of North Texas.

Realism
           Realism is a Post-Romanticism art movement, which realized that subject matter represented life as it really was and the manner of which subjects were rendered reflected reality as it was observed by the naked eye. (2002 Williams). Edward Manet (1832-1883), sometimes referred to as the first Impressionist, was a great influence on the Impressionists, mainly to his student, Monet. Manet captured natural scenes with utmost transparency and sensuality, without excelling in certain details. (Saqfalhait 1999). His controversial painting Le Dejuner sur L'herbe (Breakfast on the Grass) 1863, which features a nude woman amongst fully clothed males, became a symbol of revolution against the group of academic and strict artist, influencing the Impressionists to do so as well.

Art forms that have been influenced by Impressionism:

              Impressionism is an art movement that continues to influenced those who are involved in the artistic community and even those who passively undertake its essence. As it radically surfaced in the 1800s it stirred controversy and as a result it came to influence many artists beyond its time. Art movements that immediately reacted to impressionism are Neo-Impressionism, Post-Impressionism and even the genre of music called Impressionism.

Neo-Impressionsim
              A French art movement directly influenced by Impressionism, originated with the painting technique and style of Pointillism. Its curator, Georges-Pierre Seurat (1859-1891) used a scientific judgment of touches or dots of colour to create his most famous painting Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte (Delahunt 2002).

Post-Impressionsim
              A French art movement that immediately followed Impressionism and Neo-Impressionism. Among many others, it highlights the work of Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) and Henry Matisse (1869-1954), who showed a greater concern for expression, structure and form than the Impressionists. They built on the work of the Neo-Impressionists and rejected the emphasis the Impressionists put on naturalism and their attempt to capture the fleeting effects of light (Delahunt 2002). Post-Impressionism served as an introductory movement as it led Van Gogh to Expressionism and Matisse to Fauvism.

Impressionist Music
             Impressionistic music entails the same qualities as the paintings; lacking hard lines (melody) and distinct shapes (definite forms). Like its visual counterpart, the music contains very exotic splashes of orchestral color and exotic rhythms. The 2 composers that represent this movement are Claude Debussy (1862-1918) and Maurie Ravel (1875-1937) (Daum 1995).

Is it Art?
             "Shall I tell you what I think are the two qualities of a work of art? First, it must be incredible and second, it must be inimitable"
Pierre August Renoir
             Painting itself is not art, it can be used in a certain style or technique, but it will always remain a media in which to create art with. Paintings, les oeuvre d'art as they say in French, are true works of art, pieces that reflect the creative mind, its imagination and expression. Impressionism is an art form, one in which true works of art are created. In 1874, the Impressionists introduced their work through their own exhibition after being rejected by the French Salon; however, their paintings were not received favorably by the public and were not considered art. The term impression was used to ridicule their work in Charivari, a local Paris newspaper by an art critic named Louis Leroy after viewing Monet's Sunrise in 1874. I took many years for the public to accept their work as a fine art and today Impressionist paintings are considered to be the greatest artworks of the 20th century.
              The initiation and success of the Impressionist movement has allowed the acceptance of many other diverse art forms. Ones which have attempted to defy tradition and popular culture, evoking strong diversity in the art world and beyond. Artists must be willing at all costs to encourage change in society, by continuing to fight against the accepted tradition and definition of art.                                                   Impressionism and Technology...

Refrences:

Bommer, F. Gerald. 1997. Discovering Art History. NewYork: Davis Publicatons.

Delahunt, Micheal. 2002, January 29. Artlex Visual Art Dictionary. Online. February 2002.
http://www.artlex.com

Daum, Gary. 1995. Music a User's Guide. "Impressionism and the New Media" Online. Feburary 2002. http://www.gprep.org/~music/musikbok/chap15.html

Friorillio, John. 1999, September 28. Influence of Japanese Prints on Impressionism. Online. March 2002 http://www.bahnhof.se/~secutor/wwwboard/messages/833.html

Gage, John. 1993. Colour and Culture: Practice and Meaning from Antiquity to Abstraction. New York: Thames and Hudson

Karp, Tony.2001, October 22. Origins of Techno-Impressionism. Online. Februray 2002.
http://www.techno-impressionists.com/orgin.html

Saqfalhait, Ahmad. 1999, June 10. Realism: The art of Freedom. Online. March 2002. http://archives.star.arabia.com/990610/FE2.html

Thomson, Belina. 2000. "Impressionism" Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. CD-ROM. Washington: Microsoft.

Williams, Natale. 2000. Realism Notes. Online. March 2002
http://martyw.best.vwh.net/Realism.html

Conclusion:

                 For many the future is unknown and brings infinite possibilities, because of the growing nature of humanity and its destiny to find new means of communication, this future will stand true for decades. Throughout the centuries, technology and art have played an important role in this quest of mankind. Art and technology continue to grow until this day, influencing many to think outside the box and create a libertarian world. The Internet is one of those technologies, which has impacted the world in such a way that it will never forget because its social and political effects are universal. It has united people across boarders and oceans, nations and civilizations have become friends and now share information and experiences with each other. Looking through art history, there have been many influential movements, such as the Renaissance and one which this web page has been devoted to, Impressionism:
                  Impressionism is now the most popular and beloved stylistic period of art. Even though its time was short lived, its effects were universal and shaped the art of the 20th century and beyond. It is evident that the style was a catalyst for change because it revolted against the Official Conservative French Salon by painting a true perception of life, with vibrant colours and real subject matter. Impressionism enabled artists everywhere to look with open eyes and once again see the infinite beauty of the world around them.
                   As a result of the Internet, the art world is expanding and allowing different forms of many styles to come about. This web page can only serve as an introduction to what the Internet and other new technologies have offered to the art world. Impressionism, being an important art movement, will continue to be a catalyst for change because of its growing influential nature and because of the Internet. Individuals in the future will be able to create new impressions of their world, ones which we can only dream of today.