In the 1800's some of the artists chose a whole new way of looking at art. The thing that is the most amazing about it is they really did it for the love of the art. The artists that did this new style would get kicked out of the art world. But they kept on painting in a style that they believed to be beautiful in a new way. Little did they know that they would open the door to modern art. This group of artists were given the name Impressionists. I want to show how the Impressionist movement influenced the whole western world in a new way. Not all of it looks the same, but still the way that they represent the new idea of art in the here and now, is good even if it is not how everyone used to look at art.
Conveying a Child's Coffin, Albert Edelfelt, 1879, From the collection of: Ateneum Art Museum
Impressionism artists wanted to capture what was happening right in front of them. So they took their work outside, to be around the people in the moment. Not just showing the rich or heroic, but real life and they wanted to reach out and touch what was going on in the time they lived in.
The White Horse "Gazelle", 1881, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, 1881, From the collection of: Albertina Museum
Lautrec was known for his paintings of the gaudy night-life that he would try to paint people in their environments. In The White Horse"Gazelle" how he used the linear to give great emphasis on contour with his long brushstrokes. His way of making each brushstroke individualized made his paintings sympathetic and dispassionate. And as the video talks about how this style of brushstrokes is a part of the Impressionist movement.
Boy with a Crow, Akseli Gallen-Kallela, 1884, From the collection of: Ateneum Art Museum
With the bringing of the Impressionism movement it opened many doors for the artist. No longer would they have to just be one kind of artists. Many of them tried different kinds of painting. Kallela was one of the artist that did some Impressionism paintings, but did not feel as if that was all that he would ever do. He followed Impressionism by not portraying what he saw in a perfect detailed way but in his impressions of what was happening. Not some perfect painting but what he was feeling and seeing.
Dusty Road II, Munkácsy, Mihály, 1884, From the collection of: Hungarian National Gallery
Even though many of the younger artists in the late 1800's joined the Impressionism movement, there were a few who never joined it. One of these artists was a Hungarian named Munkacsy even though his style is not completely different than the Impressionist artists. One thing that I think is different than the other artists is that he doesn't really show the color the same nor does he show the individual person. But even in his work, he shows the influence of the Impressionist movement.
From a distant land, David Davies, 1889, From the collection of: Art Gallery of New South Wales
Davies was from Australia and was greatly influenced by the artists in Europe. At the time, he was the first to bring the new western art to Australia. And in doing that he opened the door for the Impressionist movement and in that way also the start of modern art.
Lady with a Bouquet (Snowballs), Charles Courtney Curran, 1890, From the collection of: Birmingham Museum of Art
Curran was an American artist who did a variety of different styles of paintings. He was most known for painting women in natural settings outdoors in the spirit of the Impressionist artists that went before him. True outdoors, highly personal to him and to the public that he was painting for, middle class the same class that he knew so well which is why he could give it the feeling of being real.
Christ and Mary Magdalene, a Finnish Legend, Albert Edelfelt, 1890, From the collection of: Ateneum Art Museum
I wanted to start with and end with the same artist to just give the idea of how that style of artwork in the Impressionist era changed even how the artists themselves looked at art. The story is not a new one and it is a historical one but it is done in the style of the Impressionist, with making the people in the story real and making the whole painting look like an impression of the artist as if he was there.
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