What is Impressionism? Who are the representative works and characters?

As for the cultural connotation of Impressionist painting, let’s select the important ones:

First, it changes the painting from objective natural representation to subjective spiritual expression, reflecting the aesthetics of Impressionism with the independence of painting. concept. The Impressionists are opposed to Western classical traditional painting in artistic spirit, emphasizing the creation of new era art forms; they are not interested in thematic representation of reality, and propose that life and objective objects should be expressed naturally and casually; they are free from the society that traditional art focuses on Function and educational function, it leaves behind the plot and dramatic structure of artistic expression of reality, excludes narrative literary content, focuses on the painter's self-feeling and conscious expression of realistic situations, and is good at intuitive analysis of the life status and existence forms of real situations. Objective reproduction and depiction transform painting from objective natural reproduction to subjective spiritual expression to cater to the aesthetic needs of the emerging citizen class and strive to reflect the independent aesthetic concept of Impressionist painting. The Impressionists were not opposed to using nature as their teacher, but they just emphasized "don't lose the first impression you feel." The Impressionists believed that "memory" and "imagination" could be "liberated from the constraints of nature." Cezanne also reminded painters to "prevent literary tendencies" and exclude narrative literary content in paintings. The simplicity and straightforwardness of Pissarro's "The Peasant Girl" and the agility and liveliness of "The Shepherdess" reflect "taking nature as a teacher" and depict the "first impression". The devotion and emotion of Degas's "Horse Horse", the leisure and unrestrainedness of "Ride and Walk", the joy and selflessness of "Ballet Dancer on the Stage", etc., are superimposed on "memory" and "imagination", trying to "learn from nature" Liberated from bondage.” The open-mindedness and wildness of Cezanne's "Crooked Tree", the tranquility and purity of "Bridge over the Manne", the simplicity and publicity of "Giant Pines on the Suburbs of Aix" all follow the "logic of color". The Impressionist painters stepped out of the traditional artistic tendency with "sociological function" and entered the social life of the time with the "independence of painting". Manet's outstanding genre paintings, such as "Coffee Concert Singer", "In the Café", "Forl Berger Tavern", etc., are representative works in this regard. Although Lautrec was born into an aristocracy, he expressed reality with an ironic mood. The nightlife of Paris's upper class society in his works does not have an elegant and noble taste in life, but it is a world of depravity, filth and full of fraud. His " The noisy carnival in "The Ball at the Moulin Rouge" and the quiet contemplation and helplessness of the characters in "The Ball of the Moulin Rouge" are really painful moans. Here, we can also understand that it is impossible for the Impressionists to truly reverse the "sociological function" in traditional art. The Impressionists live in a society with various contradictions. Even if they repeatedly emphasize the aesthetic concept of the independence of painting, it is actually It is impossible to truly enter into the "independence" of "sociological function".

The second is to pay attention to the integration of light, color, shape, meaning and beauty in painting, reflecting the main characteristics of the combination of impressionist art and optics. Impressionist paintings made breakthrough achievements in the expression of light and color. They sought form in light and color, expressed meaning and beauty with the eulogy of light and color, and understood the dialectics of light, color, shape, meaning, and beauty in the language of painting. The relationship brings the flickering sunlight and subtle shadows into the painting, making the painting fresh, bright and full of life. In Impressionist paintings, light and color are the basic painting language, artistic elements, fast-beating music melody and slowly flowing cultural symbols. Light and color are the artistic starting point of form, meaning and beauty. Form, meaning and beauty are in Light and color form, express ideas and show beauty. The most basic painting technique of the Impressionist painters is to strive to find an effective method to break through the single, seemingly unchanging "intrinsic" color of the object; they strive to capture the instantaneous color of the object that naturally appears in a specific time, which is affected by a certain environment. Color is affected by conditions, spatial distance and other surrounding objects. They started by painting water and vividly described the colorful colors reflected by the water waves. They then expanded to the expression of light and color from buildings to the sky. The Impressionist exploration of light and color benefited from scientists' new discoveries about the nature of light in the early 19th century, which gave birth to a cultural leap resulting from the combination of art and science. Monet repeatedly painted Rouen Cathedral and haystacks at different times in order to capture the light and color of the moment. "Rouen Cathedral, Door Viewed from the Front, Harmony of Brown" and "Rouen Cathedral, Effect of Sunlight, Evening" exhibited in this treasure exhibition are more than 30 oil paintings painted by Monet for the church. Two of them. When he was painting these paintings, he wrote in a letter to his wife that every day he would make some new discoveries that he had not seen the day before, so he quickly made up for them, but at the same time he would also lose something.

The third is to use the juxtaposition, overlapping and complementary color techniques of primary colors to form a new painting language of Impressionism. In order to express the dynamic changes of objects and the dazzling and bizarre colors of light, impressionist painters used small strokes and juxtaposition of tones. Some colors are no longer mixed on the palette, but the three primary colors of red, yellow and blue are juxtaposed, sometimes overlapping, and The complementary contrast of red and green, yellow and purple, blue and orange creates a new harmony of colors in a strong visual impact. Impressionism's new "light and color" technique formed a new painting language, which is refreshing.

The fourth is "moving the easel outdoors", which became an important painting method of the Impressionists. It is not a simple displacement of the painting location, but a change in the way of painting, which has changed the traditional Western painting method. It is to sketch the scene under the sun and capture and depict the subtle effects of the color of the object under the sunlight.

Renoir liked to sketch models outdoors in the woods to study the green reflections and brilliant spots on the models' bodies and faces. Renoir revealed the mystery of the flow of colors from the fresh natural scenery, and realized the beauty and harmony of colors, the joy and changes of sunlight, the rhythm and honesty of nature, and the brightness and warmth of life. Therefore, "Parasol" The shadow under the umbrella in "Lise", the crystal clear visual color of the moment of looking back and the sincere charm of non-visual color in Lise's eyes, with the bright spring scenery, spring color and spring news collection of "Spring of Chateau" With the spring breeze, there is the flowing river, the fluctuation of the river light, the paddling of the boat and the agility of the rafting people in "Raising the Seine". "Painting under the Sun" laid the foundation for the rise and development of Impressionist painting in terms of painting methods.

The fifth is to revolutionize traditional Western painting and learn from various painting schools, leaving a cultural trajectory in which Impressionism opened the door to modern art in the 20th century. The Impressionist artistic trend came into being with Impressionist painting, and Impressionist painting flourished in the surge of Impressionist artistic thought. The rise of Impressionism lies in the transformation of traditional Western painting and the reference to various painting schools in the first half of the 19th century, including classicism, romanticism and realism. Impressionist painting was rebellious in many ways. Impressionism quickly formed its own artistic style, painting characteristics and cultural style. While it uniquely dominated the art scene in the second half of the 19th century, it also showed the limitations of its own artistic choices and cultural orientation, leading to constant confusion and differentiation. In this process, Impressionism, Neo-Impressionism, and Post-Impressionism emerged one after another. After the decline of Impressionism, Neo-Impressionism, and Post-Impressionism, Cubism and various rationalized abstract arts of the 20th century drew power from them. Impressionism, Neo-Impressionism, and Post-Impressionism opened the door to modern art in the 20th century.

Cultural Portraits of Impressionist Painters

In the evolution of Impressionism, Neo-Impressionism, and Post-Impressionism, some influential painters appeared, and they consciously or unconsciously walked towards the banner of Impressionism Under; although some do not have the "team consciousness" of Impressionism, their works reveal the artistic style of Impressionism; although some participated in the early artistic activities of Impressionism, their overall artistic tendency is closer to post-Impressionism, or they have become Representative figure of Post-Impressionism. This "French Impressionist Painting Treasures Exhibition" has 51 selected works, among which there are more than 4 works by Manet, Monet, Pissarro, Sisley, Renoir, Degas and Cézanne. Manet was the founder of Impressionism. He was the first to draw materials from daily life and natural scenery in his painting creations. He emphasized that the operation of color blocks in painting is higher than the description function. Monet was the initiator, leader and steadfast practitioner of the Impressionist painting movement, and the eulogist of "light and color". Pissarro was the leader of pointillism. Sisley's painting style was relatively stable among the Impressionists. Renoir was a pioneer of French Impressionism, and his early works were typical true portrayals of Impressionism, full of flashes of color and light. Degas is known as a master of dynamic human figures. Cézanne is one of the outstanding post-Impressionist painters and the father of modern painting. His works and thoughts have a great influence on the development of aesthetic concepts of many artists and art movements (especially Cubism) in the 20th century.

Impressionist painters each have their own style and personality, and at the same time they are bright and unique.

First, the critical nature of artistic thought. Impressionist paintings are critical and "rebellious" in nature. They were rejected by the orthodox salons. However, the rejection strengthened their "rebellious" nature and made them more tenacious on the road of exploration. In 1874, a group of young painters held their first art exhibition under the guise of the famous Paris photographer Nadar's studio, which was the product of being rejected by the orthodox salon. By 1886, the Impressionist movement held eight art exhibitions. During this period, Impressionist painting developed in twists and turns, and Impressionist painters came and went. However, overall, the critical edge of Impressionist artistic thought has not diminished.

The second is the originality of the art system. Although the representatives of Impressionism still maintained the classical form and general aesthetic concepts of painting, they shook up the traditional painting methods, loosened the chain of highly inherited art, and created new ideas in aesthetic concepts, light and color processing, visual construction and aesthetic taste. a new art system.

The third is the exploratory nature of artistic spirit. Impressionist painters are always in the process of exploration, starting from exploration, developing from exploration, coming together in exploration, developing new artistic trajectories in exploration, colliding and breaking up in exploration, and evolving from Impressionism, Neo-Impressionism, and Post-Impressionism in exploration. Come and walk towards the modern art of the 20th century.

The fourth is the gradual emergence of art treasures. There was a process for Impressionist paintings to be accepted by the world. When the works of Impressionist painters were rejected from the orthodox salons, their works were subsequently ignored, and even purchased works were required to be returned. In July 1933, when Renoir's "The Little Artist" was sold for 170,000 francs in Paris, Mr. Chang Shuhong once wrote "Renoir's Victory" with emotion in Paris: "Renoir and Monet can be said to be The two most unique among the pioneers of Impressionism, they are pure artists with outstanding sentiments, hard work and lifelong efforts to challenge the times... People say that Renoir succeeded! However, please do not forget his struggle in the face of hatred and ridicule. He continued to pursue it, and the reward for his victory came in 1933, 14 years after his death. "Here, the gradual emergence of art treasures took 14 years!

The fifth is the reference of artistic techniques.

The Impressionists drew on the techniques and aesthetics of the Barbizonians and British painters. Sisley once said to the critic Adolphe Davinier: "Who is my favorite painter? If I only talk about my contemporaries, they are Delacroix, Corot, Millet, Rousseau and Courbet. , they are all our teachers. They love nature and feel it strongly." The influence of the Barbizon school landscape painters on the Impressionists is obvious. Pissarro admitted: "Our path begins with the great British painter Turner..." Impressionist painters also absorbed nutrients from Eastern art such as China and Japan. Van Gogh pointed out: "I dare to predict that other painters will like a kind of color in strong sunlight, like the crystal clear colors in Japanese paintings." "Japanese art... took root among French Impressionist artists. "In 1870, Monet became interested in Japanese ukiyo-e prints and began collecting ukiyo-e prints in 1871.