Though Impressionism may have gotten off on the wrong foot in France, I really enjoyed it, just as France eventually did as well. In general, I find impressionism very appealing; especially the works by Claude Monet. Impressionist art was done relatively quickly, and in the moment, with fast, loose brush strokes of color that would blend together when viewed. Unlike a lot of previous artwork until this point, impressionist artwork did not depict historic events, heroes, or religious figures. Instead, impressionist art depicted pleasant moments in time and nature. Subjects of impressionism included nature, entertainment of the middle and upper class, and effects of light and weather. Some of the popular impressionist painters were Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, and Degas.
In contrast to impressionist art, was realist painting. This became very popular in France just before the dawn of impressionism. While similar to impressionism in the fact that realist paintings depicted realistic events and subject matter, they were very different in style. Realist paintings were obviously realistic; they would almost look like a photograph at first glance. This is very different from the impressionist paintings which were more abstract. Realist and impressionist paintings were also similar because neither style depicted heroes, kings, or theatrical events, however, realist artists chose to focus on the “ordinary” things in life, such as farming, chores, livestock, while impressionist artists tended to focus on not just ordinary, but the beautifully ordinary things in life, such as nature, city skylines, and ordinary people doing leisurely activities. One clear difference between the two styles is the stroking method, which is much more subtle in realist paintings than impressionist. Some of the popular realist painters were Courbet, Bonheur, Manet, and Homer.
Claude Monet- Woman with a Parasol- Madame Monet and Her Son, 1875 Argenteuil
I love Monet’s work Woman with a Parasol. The colors he used are beautiful; the green and blue of the grass and sky with wisps of purple, pink, and yellow for flowers. I also love the angle, where it seems that the woman is either on a hill or Monet is lying on the ground to paint this. This angle not only makes the sky appear much larger, but it also leaves wonder as to what is on the other side of the hill. This painting gives me feelings of ease, pleasure, relaxation; it’s a breath of fresh air. Looking at this painting you can almost smell the flowers and feel the sun shining in the 70 degree weather with a cool breeze blowing across your skin. I feel that for this image to make this “impression”, it needs to have the impressionist style of light, loose strokes and colors that are not mixed, but appear to blend when viewed. I think that if the same image were painted with realist style, the feelings evoked would be much different. The image would not be as light, it would be much harsher, and it seems that the lightness of this image is very important for invoking the appropriate emotions.
Rosa Bonheur- Plowing in the Nivernais 1849, Paris
The realist painting Plowing in the Nivernais is a clear depiction of the style that realist paintings had. The painting is life-like, depicting “ordinary” activities done by “ordinary” people. The painting is beautiful, but in a different way than Monet’s impressionist works. This image is beautiful to me because of the technicality of it; the precision, scale, proportion, and detail. This image does not evoke emotion like impressionist works, though this was not the intent behind this style of painting. Realist style was a reaction against Romanticism, which aimed to elicit emotions. This style is better at awakening the senses; I can almost feel the cool soil under my feet as well as smell that signature smell of livestock.
While I do appreciate both styles of painting, personally, the emotion provoked by an image is more influential than how visually correct it is. This is why I enjoyed impressionism works so much. A few more of my favorite impressionism pieces are shown below for your enjoyment. 🙂
Claude Monet- The Cliff at Fecamp 1881, Normandy
I love the color of the water and sky in this painting. At first glance it looks like the perfect beach paradise, but if you look closely at the water, you can see his bold strokes of different colors. It amazes me how well they all blend to create beautiful ocean waves. This is another of Monet’s works that is just so light and airy; it feels like a weight is taken off your shoulders when you look at it.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir- Oarsmen at Chatou, 1879 France
Renoir’s work, Oarsmen at Chatou, is another impressionist painting that I enjoyed. Again, I love the use of color and strokes to make waves in the water. The seaside grass is beautiful to me with its hints of blue. I also love how laidback everyone seems to be, even the woman in a gown. This brings back memories of relaxed summer days in the sunshine out on the lake with friends, without a care in the world.
http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.61379.html
http://www.impressionism.org/salon/salonIndex.html
https://www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/gg86/gg86-39759.html
Lauren Gravatt's Blog 
I agree with your aesthetic appreciation of impressionistic art in comparison with romantic art. Claude Monet’s Woman With a Parasol-Madame Monet and her son, looks fresh, light, brilliant, airy, and wispy. I too like his fresh colors, and how beautiful her dress looks. I think it is crazy how fast Monet could paint. In your hyperlink http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/impressionism-france.html?searched=impressionism&highlight=ajaxSearch_highlight+ajaxSearch_highlight1, I thought that it was interesting that despite the initial rejection of impressionism, Claude Monet was clever enough to find a way around it, and get his foot in the door.
I hove gone through and looked at most of the blogs about impressionism and am coming to the conclusion that people don’t necessarily like impressionism, they like Monet. I know that he is kind of the face of impressionism but, there were other impressionists as well and people don’t seem to be referencing them as much. I see that you included Manet and I agree with you on this particular work but, I do not care for his other works as much. In my opinion Monet was just head and shoulders above all other impressionist painters in terms of talent and eye for subject matter. I don’t know if I can describe it properly but, he just had something else going on entirely. It is kind of like Jackson Pollock and his drip paintings. There were other people that tried to copy him but, to art aficionados he is the standard by which others are judged because there is just something unique about his work. To me it is the same with Monet. He just had a little something extra to his work that others lacked.
As I said in my blog, I was not impressed by the pictures of impressionism, but after studying the process and the feelings behind it, I did come around. I agree that both of these styles of painting have their own flare and that it took a certain kind of artist to whip up a few brush strokes and a little color to make us see what he does. Monet is a great artist and I found that many of them had a lot to offer us.
I agree, I really enjoyed the impressionism painting especially Monet’s. My favorite of his painting is the Woman with Parasol, I too enjoy the colors of the painting from the rich blues and greens along with the white in the clouds and the woman’s dress, I enjoy the impression that the dress gives in contrast to the clouds. It seems as if the woman herself represents the landscape since the colors and forms match her shape and surroundings.