1. Born in France in the 1860’s “Impression”: initial sensory perception recorded by an artist in a brief glimpse. Main goal was to present an “impression”, it represented visual sensations between light and color. Color: they found is not an intrinsic, permanent characteristic of objects but changes constantly according to the effects of light. Light: the reflections on the object’s surface. Light at different times of day and in different weather conditions dramatically changes the reflected colors. FRENCH IMPRESSIONISM by Jackie Clinton

2. They created a choppy brushstroke to meet the challenges of portraying such fleeting qualities of light. At close ranges the daubs of color side by side looked unintelligible. At a distance the eyes fused the separate streaks of as together, ex. Blue and yellow looked green making the hue seem more intense than a mixed palette. Even their painted shadows were not gray or black but composed of many colors. Brushstrokes effecting Color

3. Claude Monet “Sunirse” http://www.monetpaintings.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/claude-monet-impression-sunrise-iImpression-soleil-levant.jpghttp://www.monetpaintings.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/claude-monet-impression-sunrise-iImpression-soleil-levant.jpg -Landscapes, waterfront scenes, series of poppies, cliffs, poplars, Rouen Cathedral -Sunny hues, pure primary colors dabbed side my side. -Dissolves form of subject into light and atmosphere, and soft edges. -In the 1880s rather than small dabs of paint Monet lengthened his brushstrokes into sinuous sweeps of color. -He eliminated outlines of and contours until form and line almost disappeared into interwoven brushstrokes.

4. Monet http://www.learn.columbia.edu/monet/swf/“Rouen Cathedral” Monet painted several series at various times of day and under different weather conditions to show the effect if light on the surface of the object – in this case Rouen Cathedral. He painted over 30 variations but displayed only 20.

5. Renoir “Le Moulin de la Galette” http://www.renoirgallery.com/gallery.asp?id=149http://www.renoirgallery.com/gallery.asp?id=149 -Voluptuous, peach skinned female nudes, café society, children, and flowers. - Rich reds, primary colors, hated black-used blue instead. -Early: quick brushstrokes, blurred figures blended into hazy background Late: classical style -Fragmented form into glowing patches of light applied as short brushstrokes of distinct colors.

6. Degas “The Little 14-Year-Old Dancer” http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the- collections/120011285#fullscreen http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the- collections/120011285#fullscreen “The Glass of Abinthe” http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/degas/a bsinthe/degas.absinthe-2.jpg http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/degas/a bsinthe/degas.absinthe-2.jpg -Pastel portraits of human figure in stop action pose; ballerinas, horse races, café society, laundresses, and circus. -Gaudy hues side by side for vibrancy, early”:soft pastels Late: broad smears of acid colored pastels -Offbeat angles with figures cropped at edge of canvas, asymmetrical composition with void at center. -Designed this with wax when his eye sight was failing and he had to create by touch. -His linear drawing, compositions, 3-D depths and firm contours set him apart from the other Impressionists. But he shared an interest in scenes that appeared unplanned and spontaneous.

7. Post- Impressionism by Luigina Cerro French phenomenon. Mid 1880s- early 1900s. Styles were derived from Impressionism’s ideas and moved into new directions. Characterized by bright colors and sharp outlined edges and various different types of brushwork

8. “The Starry Night” Van Gogh, 1889, Oil on Canvas Subject: Flowers, self- portraits, landscapes, interiors & still-lifes. Signature: Swirling brush strokes. Mood: Passionate and vibrant. Concerns: Emotional reaction to subject through color and brushworks.

9. “Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear” Van Gogh, 1889, Oil on Canvas Van Gogh did about forty self portraits in oil. His goal was to capture the essence of human life. Van Gogh focuses all agony on the eyes. “I prefer painting people’s eyes to cathedrals, for there is something in the eyes that is not in the cathedral.”

10. “A Sunday On La Grande Jatte” Seurat, 1884-1886, Oil on Canvas Subject: Casual activities in Paris. Signature: Bright colors in minuscule dots, “pointillism.” Mood: Scientific and logical. Concerns: System of optical blending in eyes of the beholder. Believed complementary colors would mix well to the viewer’s eye. Only finished seven large paintings because they were so intense.

11. “Large Bathers” Cezanne, 1906, Oil on Canvas Subject: Still-lifes w/ fruit, landscapes of Mont Ste- Victoire, L’Estaque. Signature: Proto-Cubist stress on geometric structure. Used small brushstrokes. Mood: Analytical and stable. Concerns: Underlying permanent order. Can be said to form the bridge between late 19 th century Impressionism & the early 20 th century’s line of artistic enquiry which is known as Cubism.

12. “La Orana Maria” Gaugin, 1892, Oil on Canvas Subjects: Tahiti natives and/or peasants in Brittany. Signature: Exotic primitivism. Mood: Symbolic, mysterious. Concerns: Brilliant color to express emotion. His work became popular after his death. Painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer.