An Introduction

Hello this is C. A. Stemmer, 

Due to technical difficulty the actual blog starts at the very bottom of the page at the title From The Beginning: Renaissance. I based this blog off of four impressionist: Degas, Monet, Renoir, and Pissarro, many of whom were good friends. Things to look for in impressionist paintings are the illusion of motion and light and shadow. Some artist mastered certain attributes better than others. The name of the blog bares no relation to the actual subject and without further stalling you may begin.

P.S. this needs no comment

Renoir Vs. Degas

Le Viol

A woman with her Blog

It is hard to tell if the woman on the bottom is a painting by Renoir or Monet, but it is indeed a painting by Renoir. The top is a Degas painting, noted by his signature dancers. In the top painting, the dancers  are the focus of the painting, while the background is all blurry. The bottom painting is similar to a Monet, and was probably painted during the time the two artists painted together. Renoir still focuses his attention on the woman (probably his wife,) and pays less attention to his background.The background is still very detailed in terms of shadow and presents the painting as a look through Renoir's eyes.

Comparing Pissarro To Monet

         

Clifftop walk At Pourville

Hermitage at Pontoise

Guess which one is Monet and which is Pissarro. If you guessed that Monet was the top, your right. Like most Monet's paintings, actual scene is indistinct and no part stands out more than the other in terms of texture. The bottom painting is a Pissarro because it almost looks like it was  planned out instead of glanced at. The bottom is also Pissarro in terms of perspective. As you get further and further away from the painter, the landscape gets more and more indefinite. The shadow on the top is dappled ands the shadow on the bottom is in blocks. Monet is the best at capturing motion, in the painting by the sea, the boats appear to be moving as does the water because Monet paints them in such away where one has to make an assumption where the the actual shape is. Pissaro doesn't use motion but rather paints still life snapshots. Monet"s painting is more blurry than Pissarro's.

Pissarro

Pissaro And Monet are two Impressionist artist that had the same main theme, but Pissarro was less blurry than Monet.

In Pissarro paintings, there is a certain structure, a feeling of clarity. In the painting above, Chestnut Trees at Osny, there is structure to the trees, the individual branches are visible. In comparison to The Water Lily Pond by Monet, it is much clearer what the painter is painting. Pissarro made sure to use shadow in his paintings but unlike other Impressionist artist, shadow in his painting is in blocks; in most Impressionist works, shadow is dappled throughout the painting. Pissarro like Monet liked to use people as little as possible in his landscapes, if not at all.

Renoir

Unlike most impressionist, renoir was a peoples person. He liked to paint portraits and people interacting with nature. The main theme in all of his painting is people. In Le Moulin De La Galette, Renoir is painting a party that is held out doors. Unlike Degas or Monet, this painting style has very definite shapes. Renoir like to utilize nature in a unique way where the nature was the background for the people. He liked to express nature in comparison with people. He loved to use light  and shadow in his works in order to accurately depict the people as seen through a cursory scan of a scene.

The Star - Degas

The Star is one of Degas's most famous paintings. As opposed to Monet's type of painting, where the whole scene is seen as a glance, Degas's are seen through a lens. In The Star the dancer is painted as if glanced at, but her surroundings are so indistinct it is as if the they are the parts on the edge of a lens. This helps the feeling of light and shadow because even if the background is lit up it is still in shadow, taking focus off of the background and applying it the the dancer. The only definite shape in this whole painting is the star herself. In most paintings, Degas focuses on people not nature setting himself apart from other impressionist.

Monet Style

In the painting, where the tree meets the water it is impossible to tell the exact point where they meet. The water also has so much detail in regards to light that is almost looks like steps. The piece also makes the shadow portion very evident in how Monet portrays the bushes under the Willow Tree. Motion being a major factor in impressionism is used in this painting as well. The willow tree is loosely defined, being a mass of different greens rather than individual branches making up the tree. This allows the tree to take on motion because no one knows exactly where each willow branch is. The same principle applies to The bushes under the tree. In this painting there are no humans, but the idea of back yard paradise is evident in Monet's expression of nature. Monet strove to magnify the beauty of nature through his work. The magnification in this work is making the large picture perfect, not the small things like a deformed branch or peeling paint on the bridge.

Societies Reaction to Impressionism

Like all new things, there was heavy resistance to Impressionist style works. The salons of Paris (the most powerful art society of it's time) refused to acknowledge the artwork, labeling it as sloppy and lazy art, not worthy of recognition. This verdict by salons made their art unpopular and the artist themselves, impoverished, (the term hungry artist applies.) The art the salons were famous for excepting were portraits in the Renaissance style. The Impressionist, mainly painting non-portrait people or landscape were not eligible for these spots.

as you can see in this portrait painted in 1870, it looks like it was seen through a window, unlike the impressionist whose portraits or self-portraits look like they are seen at a glance.

The Start of Impressionism

The Impressionist Era began with the fragmentation of society be the Franco-Prussian War, where France was beaten. The movement started in France in about 1870. The painters who started painting with a new style, contrary to basic renaissance style were Monet, Degas, Pissaro, and Renoir. Most impressionist painters took traditional art lessons in good art schools before painting in impressionistic way. Most of these painters were good friends that worked side by side.

This is one of Monet's self portraits

From the Beginning Renaissance

Before the impressionism began the styles of painting were confined to, as being described as looking through a window. This style of art stretches all the way back to the origins of the renaissance, where perspective and realism was key to the beautiful works. The painters of the Renaissance tried to make their paintings as realistic as possible, in effect making illusion reality. Painters would regularly have many rough draft of a painting, before painting the final work. The principles of Renaissance art would stay with the artist of Europe until the Franco-Prussian War.

You can see the change in the the style of Botticelli, as apposed to Van Gogh. The art seems nothing alike, but the art from Van Gogh, as in Starry Night, is not quite impressionism because light and shadow isn't used and it is obviously sought out and planned as a painting.