Ideally, art comes from the mind in the sense that the artists envision and bring different concepts to life. Therefore, when the term “Impressionism” came into being, it took many by surprise.

For some reason, there were sharp criticisms that queried the relevance of Impressionism in the art industry.

Many decades down the line, it is evident that Impressionism has made tremendous impacts in the art industry. We are to look at the origin and influences made by Impressionism during the time of invention and afterward.

Origin of Impressionism

Impressionism wasn’t a known term or at least widely known in the art industry until the 19th century. At the time, it took a painting by Claude Monet to attract the criticism of Louis Leroy. Claude had made an oil painting in the year 1872, which was meant to show or create the impression of sunrise.

Louis Leroy, who didn’t find it quite thrilling, went on to write an article entitled, “The Exhibition of the Impressionists.” The article, which was meant to criticize Claude’s work and make fun of artists delving into Impressionism, later triggered the inception of the Impressionism movement.

It is essential to point out that Impressionism is a 19th-century art movement that became rife in the 1870s and 1880s. The movement sought to highlight the movement of light as well as the changes in the immediate environment.

As depicted, the characteristics centered on the thin and visible brushstrokes that illustrate the changing qualities of light. It also highlighted the accentuation of the effects of the passage of time. At the base, Impressionism aims to point out the role of art in the present time just as it helps to point out the changes in things as the days go by. check out Top Iconic Works from the Era of Impressionism.

Why Impressionism Was Different When It Was Invented and Explored

Art has many impressions. It can be interpreted in different ways by different people. In the same way, Impressionism makes it easier for people to be in affinity with the realities of life. The influences and changes triggered by Impressionism cannot be underestimated.

Some factors contributed to the adoption of Impressionism into the art industry. Here are some of the reasons why it was different and explored at the time of invention. also  

Here are some of the influences made by Impressionism in art:

1. Violated the Rules of Academic Painting

It is no secret that academic painting or conventional painting models were very much in common before Impressionism came into the game.

At the time, Impressionism changed things by initiating the construction of paintings by using freely brushed colors. Those colors also took precedence over lines and contours.

Hence, they cannot be said to be things that were made up because they had the finesse of art in them.

2. Reinvented Colour Vibration

Worthy of mention is that Impressionism made a corresponding influence on color vibration. Contrary to the conventional painting or side by side brushing of colors, Impressionism now came up with a different outlook to color vibration.

In this instance, the mixture or wave of colors was achieved by using short and broken brushstrokes. The brush strokes comprised pure unmixed and mixed colors, which were neither shaded nor smoothly blended.

3. Capturing of Momentary Sunlight

Claude Monte, the artist that triggered Impressionism, made the debut using an oil painting that depicted sunrise. That also formed part of the basis for the influence caused by Impressionism in that aspect.

Impressionism facilitated the capturing of momentary sunlight, as well as the transient effects of sunlight. It also took it further by initiating the painting of the same outdoors or in a concept famed as en Plein air.

4. Painting of Modern Life Scenes Outdoors

Before the invention of Impressionism, much modern life and realistic scenes were painted in studios. However, the coming of Impressionism initiated the outdoor painting of the same.

It was on that note that still life, portraits, and landscapes were painted outdoors.

5. Avoidance of Black Paint

What works for one may not work for another aptly depicts the difference made by Impressionism. Unlike conventional artworks that made use of black paint, Impressionism avoided it.

Since Impressionism aims to make colors more vivid, it doesn’t make use of black paint. Instead, it makes use of complementary colors to produce dark and grey tones.

6. Boldly Painted Outdoor Paintings

Outdoor paintings, also called en Plein air, had vividly painted shadows, which are decorated with the blue of the sky. The blue of the sky is reflected on the surfaces. Worthy of note is that the blue shadows on the snow inspire the shadows.

That went on to bolster the addition of freshness, which had hitherto not been represented in conventional painting.

7. Softer Edges

Impressionism also facilitated the addition of wet paint into wet paint. This helped to produce more elastic edges and intermingling of colors, which also replaced the wait for successive paint applications to dry.

8. Use of Premixed Paints

While Impressionism was a revolution in the art industry, the addition of Premixed Paints into the plan made it more fascinating. In the middle of the 19th century, there came the introduction of premixed paints.

The paints, which were in tin tubes, made it easier for Impressionists to make more spontaneous paintings, both indoors and outdoors.

The introduction and use of premixed paints replaced the individual mixture of colors by painters.

Conclusion:

Impressionism came into being at a time the art industry was looking for better ways to break even. Amidst the criticisms and the widespread antagonisms that trailed the work of Claude Monte and many other Impressionists, Impressionism still went on to become one of the most used forms of art.

You now know the concept behind Impressionism and the roles it played in the global art industry. The question now is, “Are you ready to become an impressionist?” Let us know in the comment section! [html_block id=”12849″]

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We currently live in an era where technology, art, and environment share similar ideas and works together in producing innovative artworks by artists. This has, indeed, improved skill as a whole.

Tracing back through time, you will discover an unending list of history books and art streams where seven prominent paintings have a similar story to tell.

These paintings reflect the artists’ mind in compelling us to view a subject in a different approach and perspective, and we should try to question the normalcy of the things we see.

Through their psychedelic and hyper-imagination, which they termed “normal,” was the way they expressed themselves and their ideologies.

Let us take a look at seven great examples of experimentation in art.

Grauer Tag Painting by George Grosz

George Grosz was well-known for his caricature-like paintings that showed how life looked like in the German city of Berlin at the time.

But in 1920-1921, Grosz looked for new agitprop with this work, one with stylish visual language.

With the use of mediums that breathes Italian metaphysical art themes, George Grosz went beyond Dada and New Objectivity group of the Weimar Republic era. Moving to the USA in 1933, he abandoned his earlier style of the subject matter.

The paintings reminded the world of Giorgio de Chirico, which was something that looked like faceless people in empty areas in front of some standard industrial buildings.

These details mostly represented political issues and statements rather than existential.

The painting exposes controversial issues that were highlighted by a low brick wall.

There was a cross-eyed German nationalist council officer in the foreground.

According to the New Objectivity exhibition in Manheim in 1925, the other men behind the welfare officer was a disabled war veteran, a worker, and a black market dealer.

The illustration of this art divided society into two classes.

Grosz, however, started using the critical ‘Verism’ style and did not produce any more oil paintings as the years passed. 

The Great Metaphysician by Giorgio Chirico

De Chirico was a mysterious man, and his ideologies reflected in his works. In this painting, he created an empty building square in the middle of a strange monument.

The monument was made with furniture parts and construction tools with an eerie overall display.

The edifice was lit up with the summer sunlight beaming upon it like a stage while the darkness of the skies in the horizons highlights the nightfall.

To maintain the discontinuity, the chimney of the factory can be seen in the sky where the modern era bursts into the cosmos of quattrocento.

For his transcended world view, De Chirico discovered Italy in a metaphysical stage. This view, however, was influenced by Nietzsche.

“The conception of a picture has to be something which does not make any sense in itself and no longer signifies at all from human logic,” He said.

The School of Athens by Raphael

Made by Raphael between 1509 and 1511, The School of Athens was identified as a sound reflection of the Renaissance theory.

The painting consists of many ideas of great and famous philosophers, mathematicians, and scientists formed into one image.

Here, men like Aristotle, Socrates, Plato, Da Vinci, and many more can be seen in the painting.

The painting shows them learning and interacting with each other.

These great men did not live during the same time frame, but Raphael majestically brings them all together. This was meant to signify the celebration of that age.

The Italian Renaissance artist created the art piece to decorate the rooms in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. The rooms are now called the Stanze di Raffaello which was made to represent and pay homage to the Renaissance era.

The painting can still be found in some of the room sections, the Vatican, which was commissioned by his sponsor, Pope Julius II.

Der Radionist by Kurt Gunter

In early 1928, German art critic and historian Franz Roh discovered something about legendary paint created by Kurt Gunter.

He described the interiors as a petit-bourgeois living room.

However, this contradicts the intentions of Gunter’s idea.

“petit-bourgeois…has shut himself in on a Sunday with a crackling radio set, has clamped on headphones, opened a bottle of red wine and picked up an opera libretto and a cigar a vengeful bachelor’s idyll of our time and a musical fortification, with resistance glinting in his eyes.”

He described it as just a picture of Herr Schreck, a paraplegic and wheelchair-bound German listening to the radio as it broadcasts a program on October 29^th, 1923, which signified his improvement in expanding his social web.

In shaping the face of society, the theme of his painting highlighted the positivity and revolutionary effect of his invention.

It then later became a major subject of many more new objectives painting artworks to come.

Portrait of Madame Isabel Styler-Tas by Salvador Dali

This painting was created by the legendary Surrealists, Salvador Dali, in 1929.

The picture depicts the picture of successful Amsterdam jeweler Louis Tas’s daughter, Isabel, an arrogant and rich businesswoman.

The image had her wearing a sophisticated red clothe with a brooch of medusa pinned to her breast.

Behind her was a landscape embodied in deep fantasy. Opposite her was a fossilized version of herself, staring back at her.

With an excellent fascination for perspectives and illusion, Dali flirted with the modernism era, which was going through the cubist phase at the time.

He was able to translate old-fashioned artworks into modern issues, and that was one of the things that made him famous.

He also noted that “As far as a portrait painting goes, I intended to create a fateful connection between each of the different personalities and their backgrounds, in a manner far removed from direct symbolism.

This is in terms of medium and iconography to encapsulate the essence of each of my subject in mind”.

Roy Lichtenstein’s TAKKA TAKKA

In response to the revolution of popular culture in America in the 1950s and 1960s, there was an urgent need to maintain the status quo due to its power and growing fame.

After its emergence, there was no stopping in shaking up and then changing the perspective of art critics and conformist; in fact, the views of the whole world of art.

Takka Takka was created by Roy Lichtenstein, who was trained in the USA pilot and a World War II veteran but never saw combat.

He ironically used the style of a cartoon sound effect to name his work. “takka takka”; the sound of a firing machine gun. This artwork represents the entire elements of pop art and its importance.

About the cartoon shows and art of that time were always created to reach a common goal; a swashbuckling, funny, and ridiculously heroic commentary.

Using this style in effectively conveying his message, Lichtenstein aimed to leave a thought-provoking and effect on his audience using the juxtaposition to his advantage. This work is considered to be a great example of experimentation in art because of the artist’s courage to convey a strong perspective about a relevant subject

When Lichtenstein’s work was criticized for been militaristic, he smartly responded,” the heroes depicted in comic books are fascist types, but don’t take them seriously in these paintings. Maybe there is a point in not taking them seriously, a political position. I use them for purely formal reasons”.

The Suicide of Dorothy Hale by Frida Kahlo

This artwork is undoubtedly one of the most potent artworks to date. Despite the limited amount of details on the portrait, it was still powerful enough to shake the world when it was produced.

The artist displayed the image of Dorothy Hale’s suicide in a truly artistic manner – also one of the bold subjects when it comes to experimentation in art

However, it was not an initial plan of Frida Kahlo to paint the death of a fast-rising American actress of the time as she was commissioned to do. Read Frida Kahlo’s Lust for Life

The building she had fallen from can be seen behind almost entirely shrouded in clouds, representing the extent of the height in which she had reached and fell to her death. Frida passed her message in a strong sense of metaphor rather than literal.

Dorothy Hale’s body can be found at the bottom of the image, which symbolizes the impact of its realism.

20 famous paintings of Frida Kahlo

The painting possessed every sense of art, from the real to the surreal, which clearly shows every detail of Hale’s suicide.

Standing at 60.4 x 48.6 cm in the Pheonix Art Museum, the painting translates;

“In the city of New York on the twenty-first day of October 1938, at six o’clock in the morning, Mrs. Dorothy Hale committed suicide by throwing herself out of a very high window of the Hampshire House building. In her memory…”

Conclusion – Experimentation in Art

A brief story on how some of the most formidable artists have dug deep into their bright imagination and conjured great art pieces.

Using the medium of diverse technicalities, themes, and subjects, they flawlessly passed their message in a truly artistic manner that was sure to change the face of art as a whole.

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