The rise of Impressionism didn't happen easily. Paris was known as the capital of the art world, and the powers that be of that great city were not happy that a bunch of "misfit" artists had the gall to paint outside of the lines. The art schools and the people who sat on the committees for art shows in Paris had very strict rules.
Those rules dictated how one painted. They expected - no, demanded - that an artist followed those rules if they ever hoped to get in a public show. From how to apply paint on a canvas to subject matter and style, these people governed how art should be made. When the Impressionists began ignoring those rules it was not seen as a good thing.
In fact, these powerful people made sure they did everything to squash Impressionism from the start. No artist that painted in this style was allowed in any of the highly renowned public shows. This hurt the artists quite a bit. Without the public becoming aware of their work, how were they supposed to make a living?
No matter. These bohemian rebels started their own shows. Finally Napoleon II gave permission for a show of the misfits. This was known as a show for all of the artists who had been rejected entrance into the more prestigious shows. Not a very enticing advertisement! At first, not many came to their shows; and those who did came to laugh. The term Impressionism was originally a slam to the movement, a derogatory term. The journalist and critic Louis Leroy looked at one of Monet's works and snorted "Impression!" and then went on to say, "Wallpaper in its embryonic state is more finished." Thanks to him, one of the greatest movements in the art world was given its name.
Impressionists were interested in landscapes and contemporary life, not religious, mythological or historical scenes. Capturing light and how the same scene changed during different periods of the day was an important part of their painting. Many of them also refused to try to make a painting look three dimensional. Since the canvas was two dimensional and they were not trying to "trick" people into seeing their work as real, but as a painting, they painted the scenes flat.
Yes, a new movement in art was born, thanks to those misfits. Things would never again be the same in the art world. We will continue to look into the lives of those crazy bohemians in future blogs here.
Showing posts with label nineteenth century art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nineteenth century art. Show all posts
Monday, November 12, 2012
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Those Crazy Bohemians (Why Impressionism?)
The period of Impressionism saw artists begin to paint in new and exciting ways. For centuries artists had been painting realism, making paintings exact reproductions of the subject matter. Strict rules had been followed and subject matter often was religious or portraits of family members of the upper class. There was also still life and landscape. Every painting had been done to "perfection" rendering an eternal picture of how a person or place actually looked.
What changed artists and their visions in the nineteenth century?
The answer was simple. It would be romantic to think it was all about artistic vision and the desire to always create something new. While those things were definitely part of the equation, the main driving force behind artists painting in a new way was one of the most basic: survival.
You see, the camera had been invented and was becoming more and more effective at taking photos. What use would there be for artists who took weeks and months to finish a portrait when a photographer could be hired? True, the photographs were not in color. But artists realized that it was only a matter of time before that would no longer be true and, if they did not change their style, they would become obsolete.
Another problem compounded the dilemma. Class structure had changed. Now there was a middle class. The lower middle class was called proletariat. The lowest of these proletarians were the artisans. All of a sudden, more and more artists who painted found themselves on their own and struggling to put food in their mouth.
You see, for centuries artists had been employed by the very wealthy to paint family portraits and history, many times staying on permanently as a staff member to continue to paint that history over the years. They had a place to sleep, food, and sometimes were even treated like a family member. It really depended upon the family how the artist was seen. Some families considered the artist another servant, and provided minimal lodging, food, and a small wage. Others loved their artist and had them sit with them at family meals, gave them a room in the main house that was luxurious and paid them quite well.
The trade off? The artist had no freedom to paint what their soul cried for them to paint. All of their time was taken up painting for the family. Many artists mourned the fact that they spent their life painting things they would rather not be painting, just to make a living. Still, the fact that they had food, shelter and a wage was nothing to turn one's back on.
Then the camera came. All of a sudden, it became more and more rare for an artist to have permanent employment with a family. Sure, they could be hired once in awhile for a painting, but even that was not guaranteed. Now they had the freedom that all people blessed with artistic ability long for...but no money! No place to live and, very often, nothing to eat. Artists began living in squalor, sometimes going door to door with paintings begging for buyers at any price, just so they could eat. Even Renoir and Degas had to peddle their paintings just to make rent at times.
It seemed there was no happy medium. Artists today still struggle to make it.
These artists began gathering and talking with each other. Ideas fed off of each other and soon the images that were talked about began to appear on canvas. They knew everything that they painted going forward had to have something different about it or it would never sell.
I, for one, am happy that all of this change occurred. Realism generally bores me. Look, anyone who can paint can do a vase of flowers exactly how it looks. All artists can create a still life in exact replica of the items places in front of them. So can a camera. If you want a reproduction, for God's sake just take a picture.
The new mantra for these bohemians was "Show me something different". And did they ever! We will talk more about those crazy bohemians in future posts. For now, I will just end by saying this: If you want real art hanging on your walls, go for the piece that shows the ordinary in an extraordinary way. As those bohemians realized, THAT is what art would and should be, moving forward. Once art becomes stagnant it ceases to be the driving force it is meant to be.
Art should always be fresh and alive. Art should always strive to reinvent itself; to be something different. Anything less tarnishes the very definition of art.
What changed artists and their visions in the nineteenth century?
The answer was simple. It would be romantic to think it was all about artistic vision and the desire to always create something new. While those things were definitely part of the equation, the main driving force behind artists painting in a new way was one of the most basic: survival.
You see, the camera had been invented and was becoming more and more effective at taking photos. What use would there be for artists who took weeks and months to finish a portrait when a photographer could be hired? True, the photographs were not in color. But artists realized that it was only a matter of time before that would no longer be true and, if they did not change their style, they would become obsolete.
Another problem compounded the dilemma. Class structure had changed. Now there was a middle class. The lower middle class was called proletariat. The lowest of these proletarians were the artisans. All of a sudden, more and more artists who painted found themselves on their own and struggling to put food in their mouth.
You see, for centuries artists had been employed by the very wealthy to paint family portraits and history, many times staying on permanently as a staff member to continue to paint that history over the years. They had a place to sleep, food, and sometimes were even treated like a family member. It really depended upon the family how the artist was seen. Some families considered the artist another servant, and provided minimal lodging, food, and a small wage. Others loved their artist and had them sit with them at family meals, gave them a room in the main house that was luxurious and paid them quite well.
The trade off? The artist had no freedom to paint what their soul cried for them to paint. All of their time was taken up painting for the family. Many artists mourned the fact that they spent their life painting things they would rather not be painting, just to make a living. Still, the fact that they had food, shelter and a wage was nothing to turn one's back on.
Then the camera came. All of a sudden, it became more and more rare for an artist to have permanent employment with a family. Sure, they could be hired once in awhile for a painting, but even that was not guaranteed. Now they had the freedom that all people blessed with artistic ability long for...but no money! No place to live and, very often, nothing to eat. Artists began living in squalor, sometimes going door to door with paintings begging for buyers at any price, just so they could eat. Even Renoir and Degas had to peddle their paintings just to make rent at times.
It seemed there was no happy medium. Artists today still struggle to make it.
These artists began gathering and talking with each other. Ideas fed off of each other and soon the images that were talked about began to appear on canvas. They knew everything that they painted going forward had to have something different about it or it would never sell.
I, for one, am happy that all of this change occurred. Realism generally bores me. Look, anyone who can paint can do a vase of flowers exactly how it looks. All artists can create a still life in exact replica of the items places in front of them. So can a camera. If you want a reproduction, for God's sake just take a picture.
The new mantra for these bohemians was "Show me something different". And did they ever! We will talk more about those crazy bohemians in future posts. For now, I will just end by saying this: If you want real art hanging on your walls, go for the piece that shows the ordinary in an extraordinary way. As those bohemians realized, THAT is what art would and should be, moving forward. Once art becomes stagnant it ceases to be the driving force it is meant to be.
Art should always be fresh and alive. Art should always strive to reinvent itself; to be something different. Anything less tarnishes the very definition of art.
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