This painting by Claude Monet is called "Impression, Sunrise" which is where the name of the art movement first originated.
Content and Composition
Painters in the 17th Century arranged their compositions in a way that made a particular subject the main focus of the painting and drew all attention to it, but impressionists saw the whole picture, they painted in a way that captured the subject but also the background. Paintings from impressionists were candid and more natural than traditional paintings of that period.
At this time in history, photography was becoming more and more popular and furthermore camera's were portable which led to photos being more candid rather than traditional portraits, this inspired impressionists to capture candid shots of beautiful landscapes and also ordinary everyday duties that people would do.
Photography and Impressionism
As the photograph became more popular, it seemed to compete with impressionist art, because it was much more "life-like and reliable" than an artwork. Impressionists then began to manipulate the one thing that photographs could not, and that was reality. In a piece of artwork, the artist can change what the average Joe might see with his eyes and create something that they feel, something that the camera can not capture. Also, photograph was black and white, and impressionists took great advantage of colour.
Today!!
Today technology allows us to do so much, black and white photography is one of 9 effects I can choose from on my computer, and with iPhoto and Picasa we can alter our photos to make them look however we want.
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| This was originally black and white, and a frame was added. |
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| This was taken using a 'fisheye' effect with the camera on my laptop |
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| Color was adjusted in iPhoto |
Although we are able to do all of this with technology, the art of impressionism is timeless and beautiful, and can only be achieved by an artists imagination and ability- unfortunately for most of us this is something technology cannot give us.
I enjoyed your article on Impressionism and how it affected all the movements to follow. It was truly a "watershed" moment in the history of art. Perhaps the very best of all painted works came from this movement, though many may argue it was the Renaissance Period, or even Modern art. But one cannot argue the value and creativity that sprang from the seeds planted by such greats as Monet, Manet, Seurat, Renoir, Van Gogh and many others. Perhaps it could be said that since Impressionism first explored painting with light and how ordinary objects are portrayed as a result of the affects of light on them, photography art is art capturing the same technique. We take pictures of light's affects on objects, just as Impressionism painters painted their subjects as the result of light upon them. One cannot have started without the other. Impressionism is the one true art genre, the large thick trunk of the family tree of art from which so many other branches sprouted.
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