Impressionism: Monet, Renior, and Manet

1. Claude Monet– Monet is one of the founding fathers of Impressionism. In fact, the term “Impressionism” is derived from the title of his painting Impression, soleil levant. Monet started with charcoal caricatures and drawing lessons when he was in secondary school. During his teens, Monet moved to Paris to live with his aunt. It was here that he met Manet and other local artists who would eventually be fellow Impressionists. During the Franco-Prussian War, Monet and his family fled to England to seek refuge. While in England, he studied the works of John Constable and Joseph Mallord William Turner. Both of these artists are known for their landscapes, and they both influenced Monet and his interest in the study of colour.

Vase of Flowers was started during the early years of Monet’s career. He focused on painting still-lifes, such as this vase of flowers, but grew very frustrated with it when he could not quite capture them the way he desired. Monet abounded the painting all together and let it sit in his studio for forty years before returning to it and finishing it toward the end of his life. One of the first things noticed about this painting at first glance are the brush strokes. The strokes on the table, the vase, and the background blend in together, making the whole painting seem very fluid. He uses a similar yellow in the shadow on the table to that of the background. The strokes on the pedals almost make the form of the painting appear 3D. The slight slant of the table top is complimented by the slight slant of the flowers at the top, going from the top right of the painting and sloping down and to the left. Monet leaves very little empty space on the painting; the flowers take up basically the whole canvas.

Another work of his, Antibes, was created in 1888 which was a bit later on in his career.  it is presumably named after the coastal town in France. This work exhibits similar qualities in all creation aspects to Vase of Flowers. The brushstrokes again seem to blend into one another and mix colors at their edges. There is most definitely a golden section. The 3/8 portion is on the left hand side  of the painting while the right 5/8s is the focal point. the photo gives an atmosphere of calm and serene using lots of blues and pale pinks and purples in contrast to the earthy browns and greens in the tree. There is an aspect of 3D in the perspective of the painting as you see the waves fade into the background and then transition into the mountains. Unlike in the flower painting, Antibes has a lot of free space not taken over by the tree in the foreground.

2. Pierre-Auguste Renoir- Renior began painting as a young boy when he had to paint designs on fine china in a factory. Due to the turmoil of the Franco-Prussian War, it was hard for Renior to find supplies for his paintings. But in 1874, he had six of his paintings hung in the first ever Impressionist exhibition.

At the Theater (left) is clearly an Impressionist work of art. Renoir uses very free brushwork. None of the people in the background are in focus or are distinguishable. They also set the scale of the rest of the painting, making it clear that the viewer is virtually next to the girl in the blue. She creates contrast with the rest of the theater considering she is much darker. Renoir uses very interesting colours as shading, specifically the green on her chin. This make her blend with the background more, a very common tactic of Impressionistic work. The balcony just to the left of the girl along with the woman behind her separates the painting into three sections. This framing of the girl ensures that she is the focus of the painting.

Gladioli in a Vase (right) is similar to Monet’s Vase of Flowers. A golden section is created on the left of the painting, with the flowers flowing down the left of the vase creating a curtain for the rest of the painting. It is clear that the light source is coming from the right based on the shadows on the tablecloth. The big brush strokes cause the colours to fade and blend together, specifically on the left of the painting where the flowers blend with the dark background.

 3.  Edouard Manet

Edouard Manet is another huge name from the early impressionist movement. He is a French painter who began with a very different predestined occupation. Manet was on the road to becoming a practitioner of law before he rejected this notion and chose instead to pursue his passion of painting and in time achieved great fame in his craft.

His piece entitled Le Dejeuner Sur L’Herbe is an exemplary piece that sparked quite a controversy in its time due to its depiction of an “ugly” naked woman accompanying well dressed men. This piece shows a fair amount of impressionist details while still holding an identity of its own. the leaves on the trees in the background are made of greens and yellows, as expected, but have blended in brown and white from the areas around it, the common characteristic of an impressionist style. But unlike most impressionist works, the woman herself has much more of a thick and opaque shading with more solid outlines surrounding her to distinguish her from the background and pull her into the focus a bit more. She is also noticeably more white. the figure in the background can be seen in a not totally discernible position, although you know she is bending down in some form and her significance in the painting is not apparent at a glance.

Then, in one of his latest pieces, A Bar at the Folies-bergere, we see an interesting take on the impressionist style. Here, instead of the more common scenery, we see a crowded room with lots of people overtaking the background and not much open scenery to paint. Manet pulls this off well though by fading all the out of focus faces into one another and drawing your eye directly into the gaze of the barmaid. the only other remotely distinguishable characters are the face of a man and the back of another woman in the background. once again we see the previously stated blending of colors all of this piece, like with all impressionist arts. the piece is mainly in simple colors such as off-whites, dark blues, treys, and blacks. There is some contrast here in the pinky-red champagne bottle  by her left shoulder and the oranges in the bowl to her right. There is quite a bit of balance in this painting as the bottles are evenly spaced on either side of her and the big chandelier on the left balances the weight of the two people on her right.

The Pre-Raphaelites at Tate Britain: Millais, Hunt, Rossetti, Brown

This week at Tate Britain, we focused on Pre-Raphaelite art and the development of each of the artists. The Pre-Rapaelite Brotherhood was a secret society of artists who worked to defy classical Renaissance styles being taught at the Royal Academy School. The PRB focused on showcasing even the smallest details in a painting, whether it be the petal of a flower and someone’s eyelash. The amount of detail used was so groundbreaking that their was accused of being photographs rather than paintings. Millais, Hunt, Rossetti, and Brown were all members of this society, and their art proves to be perfect examples of Pre-Raphaelite styles.

1. Sir John Everett Millais– Born to a wealthy family in Southampton, Millais was considered a child art prodigy from when he was nine years old. He was admitted to the Royal Academy School as the youngest student ever, where he received gold and silver awards for his painting The Tribe of Benjamin Seizing the Daughters of Shiloh and a drawing of the antique, respectively. While studying at the Royal Academy, Millais became friends with William Holman Hunt and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. It was these three young artists who decided to start the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Millais’ PRB painting Christ in the House of His Parents was not received very well due to it’s then unusual style. The painting features a huge amount of balance, shown in the characters that balance three on each side, almost exactly evenly spaced. Then there is the lines depicted all over the place in the painting. For example there are horizontals made by the table and steps on the ladder, verticals from the doorframe and table legs, and diagonals from the planks of wood in the background. Viewers of the time did not enjoy that the holy family was depicted so lowly, yet at the same time we see Joseph and Mary wearing red and blue which are often seen as colors of royalty. Also the complimentary colors of green and orange are used next here in the other woman’s clothing. there is huge amounts of detail in the facial expressions, hands, wood shavings, etc.

Ophelia was an iconic painting of the time, due in part to its reference to Shakespeare’s Hamlet, but also because of the huge amount of Millais’ talent that it displayed. Once again we see repeating themes of detail and lines. Detail is in every part of this painting,  in every flower, shrub, and fold of her clothing. There are lots of horizontals, most notably the ones the sides of the river make and the branches hovering above her.  The painting has an entirely three dimensional feel. You can literally see due to the darkness of the water and the colors of her dress, where the water gets deeper and how deep Ophelia rests within it. The reeds in the left foreground of the painting along with the trees behind them create a “curtain” for the piece, implying that woods continue to the left, making the scene more realistic. Millais creates a golden section with Ophelia’s body, having 3/8 to the right of her body and 5/8 to the left.

Fun fact: The model for Ophelia was Elizabeth Siddal, Rossetti’s wife.

2. William Holman Hunt– Unlike Millais, Hunt was not born to a wealthy family, nor was he a child prodigy. Hunt worked as an office clerk before being accepted into the Royal Academy School, though he was rejected the first time he applied. The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood’s goal was to capture the beauty of the natural world in a religious devotion to truth. This goal was especially important to Hunt as he was a very religiously devoted man. Initially, Hunt’s work was not received very well. His art was allegedly clumsy. Yet Hunt’s attention to detail and use of vibrant colours makes his painting’s very notable.

The Awakening Conscience showcases a mistress in the hands of her lover just as she begins to have a revelation. Hunt makes it clear that she is a mistress due to her lack of wedding ring. He also includes many symbols that tell the story of this mistress and the situation she is in. The reflection in the mirror behind her of the sunlit garden represents her lost innocence, though the possibility of reception is indicated by the rays of sun. The tangled yarn in the bottom right corner of the painting symbolises the web that entraps the mistress. Under the table is a cat that has captured a bird, symbolising the unfortunate and difficult situation that the mistress is in. The frame around the painting in Tate Britain (not pictured) is detailed with symbols as well, such as stars that represent the girl’s spiritual revelation.

Intense detail can be seen in the bottom hem of the girl’s dress and in the couple’s facial features, especially the gentleman’s eyelashes. What makes this painting stand out the most is Hunt’s use of extremely vibrant colours. The bright red used in the carpet, the gold used in the mirror’s reflection, and the vivid patterns of reds, greens, blues, and yellows in the mistress’ shawl make this painting stand out against the others.

3. Dante Gabriel Rossetti– Rossetti came onto the art scene in the late 1840’s to early 1850’s. He began with a  more traditional style, choosing subjects that were more religious in subject matter,  such as in his work “Girlhood of Mary Virgin”. After marrying the beautiful Elizabeth Siddal, he had gained a new muse and perspective on painting that gradually developed and changed as he emerged into the true pre-Raphaelite style through and through.

      

In Rosetti’s “The Beloved”, we see a close up of 6 women, assumed to be at a wedding for the center woman.  each woman is displayed with complete beauty and detail though and it is to be noted that no scenery can be scene around or beyond them, with the focus remaining strictly on them. The center woman, the bride, bears an uncanny resemblance to women from other Rossetti paintings due to her likeness to his wife. Rossetti toys with the idea of fantasy, showing an extravagant event that could be set in an unseen tropical place or somewhere exotic. This plays into a viewer’s desire for something out of the ordinary and fantastic. The painting is almost photographic, with its complete balance on either side of the woman and frame of faces and flowers.

One of Rossetti’s other works, “Beata Beatrix”, is even more interesting. It shows a woman that could represent the deaths of both his beloved Beatrice or his wife Elizabeth. the painting is full of symbolism, with the bird bringing peacefulness, the time dial with the sun setting upon it showing the time remaining of life, and the figures in the back representing his love and her death. The perfect use of light to capture the woman’s serene face and the distance behind her illuminates the beauty of the work itself.

4. Ford Madox Brown– Brown was not one of the original founding members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. Though he is not entirely similar to the other three artists featured, he still uses similar techniques. For example, Brown’s detail is not as intense or defined as the other artists, but he is similar in the fact that he chooses bright and vivid colours. This can be seen in his painting The Hayfield.

Though the details in this painting are not as specific as those in Mallais or Hunt’s work, it is still more detailed than typical Renaissance paintings that were being created during this time period. For example, individual branches can be seen the trees despite their small size. Overall, our personal opinion is that this painting is not as impressive as works created by other members of the PRB.

The National Gallery: Reynolds, Gainsborough, Turner, Constable

1. Reynolds– In this depiction of Lady Cockburn, the woman is represented as a goddess, as more heavenly than the average person. the clothes she is wearing are regal, clean, white, and made of expensive furs, showing her wealth. In a similar light, her skin is fair and unblemished to show how much she stayed inside from no need to labor outdoors for her money. it is often compared to Van Dyck’s “Charity”, due to their clear similarities. however, Van Dyck’s seemed to have religious connotations behind it while Reynold’s’ was just a portrait. But Reynolds benefitted from this connection because Van Dyck’s was so loved.

The piece is very traditionally composed, with lots of balance from the leaning child, the mother’s neck, and the macaw. the dark drapery in the background puts the focus on the center of the piece, the mother and her children. The strokes and clean and smooth, making for a very classic and put together appearence.

2. Gainsborough– Known for having movement and freedom in his brushstrokes, Gainsborough’s pieces are much different than works such as Reynolds. The people portrayed are fashionable and recognizable. He uses dark colours and the absence of light. As portrayed in The Watering Hole, as well as his other landscapes, the scene is kept very calm and relaxed despite work being depicted.

People can be seen in this painting, though they generally blend into the background rather than being the focal point. The time of day cannot be determined. In comparison, The Watering Hole by his competitor Rueben is much more spread out with more movement, implying work and a hectic aura. Both works use the same colour scheme, though Gainsborough remains consistent by choosing dark colours.

3. Turner– Turner became known as “the painter of light” due to his use of vibrant colours and the sun as his main focal point. He sets his perspective with the sun and the sun beams. The accurate placement of his lighting and shadows makes his paintings appear realistic, as well as showing balance. These techniques that Turner made use of are a reflection of his idol Claude’s.

Turner’s depiction of “Ulysses Deriding Polyphemus” uses this same focus upon the emerging light from the bottom rightmost corner. The beams are showcasing the victor in the mid-left in comparison to the darker ship and rocks surrounding it. He also utilizes abstract figures coming from the sea by the bottom of the ship, an interesting factor to his technique.

4. Constable– During his time, Constable was not very appreciated amongst the English. He made use of a lot of texture and big fluid strokes. Compared to Turner’s landscapes, Constable’s art is much darker with no use of sun, making it stand out against the normal landscapes of that time.

Constable’s “Salisbury Cathedral” is very small and condensed compared to typical landscapes of this time period. This makes the artwork appear heavy and darker. He uses no big fluid strokes, but small thick ones instead. This creates texture, especially in the trees, again making him stand out against other landscape artists of his time.