MCA 14

User-created

This user gallery has been created by an independent third party and may not represent the views of the institutions whose collections include the featured works or of Google Arts & Culture.

"Every age projects its own image into its art." From 1870 to 1905, impressionism and post impressionism, introduced a new way of looking at and painting the world. Impressionists wanted to catch fleeting moments on canvas and so didn't worry all that much about blending the colors they used or giving objects shape and definition, it was more about capturing the way light hit and bounced off the objects. They were very interested in the everyday life of the middle class as well as all different kinds of landscapes. Impressionism received its name from a critic of one of Monet's pieces, "Impression: Sunrise" and the impressionists decided that they liked the name and kept it. Now, post impressionism consists of a whole bunch of branches off of impressionism, such as pointillism, synthetism, etc. Each new branch encompassed their own new idea, it was just more and more different viewpoints, or impressions, of the world. The two artists feautured in this gallery are Claude Monet and Paul Gauguin. Also, the reason that impressionism began to gain movement was because it often focused on the middle clss who began to have more leisure time, and were able to enjoy more activities that used to be explicitly for the richer classes.

Road at La Cavée, Pourville, Claude Monet, 1882, From the collection of: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

This Monet is an excellent example of the bright and sometimes brilliant colors used within the impressionistic period. It also is a demonstration of just how much impressionist artists loved to paint en plen air, or outside, what with the creation of new, transportable paint tubes. Partially for the landscape and partially to study the effects light had on this path, moving out of the studio turned out to be an absolutely beautifying experience.

Rocks at Belle-Île, Port-Domois, Claude Monet (French, b.1840, d.1926), 1886, From the collection of: Cincinnati Art Museum

The brighter colors and brilliant shades throughout the piece are tell-tale signs of impressionism and Monet stirs a relaxing, maybe even a slightly romantic feeling within us as we gaze into the sunlight as it hits the water. The shadows on the rocks demonstrate a new impressionist characteristic of not only having black in the shadows but also incorporating other colors, such as those complementary.

Arlésiennes (Mistral), Paul Gauguin (French, 1848-1903), 1888, From the collection of: The Art Institute of Chicago

Gauguin had a muted impressionist style, as shown in this image. He had more of a post-impressionist outlook and developed his own style - cloisonnism. With cloisonnism, he would paint based on the use of powerful, expressive and boldly outlined areas of flat tone. In this painting, a cold wind blows through and so the women pull on their shawls to keep warm.

Tahitian Woman with a Flower, Paul Gauguin, 1891, From the collection of: Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek

Gauguin had more of an exotic taste when it came to painting, probably because of his early childhood which was spent in Peru. He also enjoyed art of non-Western cultures and was inspired by it, as were many other post-impressionists. In this painting he adds flowers to the background, similar to Japanese prints.

Atiti, Paul Gauguin, 1892, From the collection of: Kröller-Müller Museum

In this piece, Gauguin began to develop a feeling for the colors involved to represent the emotion he wanted people to experience when viewing it, an impressionist desire. This demonstrates how all post-impressionist's paintings were rooted in impressionism, but branched out with each artist creating his or her own style to convey meaning through the canvas.

This piece demonstrates Gauguin's own style again, but also his own subject interests. This piece shows that while traveling, Gauguin looked for the primitive pieces of the world that still exist in some cultures, however when he did arrive at a more primitive place, he found that it had still been touched by Westerners, as incorporated into the painting through Tehemana's dress. But he also wanted to convey that no matter what, these people would hold onto their culture, as shown through the content of the piece and color choice.

The Japanese Footbridge and the Water Lily Pool, Giverny, Claude Monet, French, 1840 - 1926, 1899, From the collection of: Philadelphia Museum of Art

This is one of twelve canvases painted from the same vantage point during the same year and they were produced shortly after the death of Monet's step daughter Suzanne, and represent a peaceful paradise that offers solace at a depressing and broken-hearted time in one's life. This is seen in the somber tones of the painting, an impressionist way of expressing the artist's point of view when creating a piece.

Nymphéas [Waterlilies], Claude MONET, c.1914-17, From the collection of: National Gallery of Australia

The small brush strokes used to create this painting developed later on in Money's career as a painter, as noted by the date of the piece. They help to demonstrate the different colors found throughout the image and also allow the reflections in the war to be more noticeable. The way the light hits the pond is an example of how impressionists wished to catch fleeting moments such as this, with the light at just the right position.

Credits: All media

This user gallery has been created by an independent third party and may not represent the views of the institutions whose collections include the featured works or of Google Arts & Culture.

National Gallery of Australia

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Cincinnati Art Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Kröller-Müller Museum

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek