Assignment #5 : Impressionism and Post Impressionism

       Impressionism is a style of painting which emphasized color and depicted realistic scenes of ordinary subjects. Painters would seek to paint impressions of what the eye actually sees, rather than what the mind knows and would like to use rich diversity of colors. Furthermore, landscape and ordinary scenes were used to being painted outdoors in varied atmospheric conditions, seasons, and times of day were among the main subjects of these artists. The other one is postimpressionism which refers to trends in painting starting in about 1885 that followed Impressionism. Even though Postimpressionism was influenced by Impressionism, postimpressionists rejected Impressionism’s constraints and embarked on their own artistic styles which were more emotionally based than impressionists work. They wanted to portray emotion and intellect as well as the visual imagery. Additionally, pointillism, which is a technique associated with Signac and Seurat, is also a part of Postimpressionism. 

      For instance, this is an artwork of Impressionism named “Garden at Sainte-Adresse” painted by a French impressionist, Monet. This picture is rendered in dazzling color. Monet’s father and aunt seated in the foreground facing the sea. His cousin is seen standing with a man, possibly her father, in the middle ground. The direction of the sun tells us that it is mid-morning; the gladiolas shows that it is mid-summer. Because of using pure colors that contrast strongly, Monet captures the almost painful brightness of sunlight reflecting off the sea, flowers and gravel paths. Also, the garden is in full bloom and ablaze with color from numerous flowers.  

      My example of Postimpressionism, “Starry Night over the Rhone” is one of Vincent van Gogh’s paintings of Arles at night time. It was painted at a spot on the bank of the Rhone River that was only a one or two-minute walk from the Yellow House on the Place Lamartine which Van Gogh was renting at the time. The night sky and the effects of light at night provided the subject for some of his more famous paintings, including Café Terrace at Night and the later canvas from Saint Remy, The Starry Night. From the painting, we can see the gas lighting reflecting off the water as a couple strolls nearby in the foreground of the painting. It reveals all the marvelous colors of the sky, the reflections of the scene and the striking contrast between the natural beauty of the star and the artificial gas lights. This bold rendering of sky brings to mind a firework display, which makes the piece very exciting and beautiful. The lively colors of stars contrasting against the dark blues and of the night reflect his scream for hope, light and love. The street lanterns along the water’s edge of the Rhone Shed enough light to enable Van Gogh to paint from direct observation. Even so, Van Gogh manipulated reality to a certain degree in order to create an even more impressive firmament.