This document provides an overview of Impressionism including its main artists and features. It discusses how Impressionism emerged as photographers made painting reality less important. Artists started experimenting more with color, atmosphere, and subjective points of view. Key Impressionist painters discussed include Monet, Renoir, Degas, Manet, Pissarro and Sisley. Their interest in themes like light, open air scenes, and movement are described. Rodin is noted as an Impressionist sculptor. Specific works like Monet's Rouen Cathedral series and Rodin's The Thinker are also summarized.

1. IMPRESSIONISM.
Pierre- Auguste Edgar Degas, Ballet rehearsal.
Renoir, Girls at the
piano.
05/02/12 Manuel Cruz Martínez, 4º B

2. INDEX:
 Impressionism |1|.
 Impressionism |2|.
 Main features of Impressionism.
 Painting.
 Édouard Manet.
 Claude Monet.
 Pierre- Auguste Renoir.
 Edgar Degas.
 Alfred Sisley.
 Camille Pissarro.
 Impressionism in Spain.
 Sorolla.
 Sculpture.
 Auguste Rodin.
 Explanation of a painting: Rouen Cathedral, by Claude Monet
 Explanation of a sculpture: The Thinker, by Auguste Rodin
 Sources.

3. Impresionism |1|
 The scientific advances of the 19th century, especially the invention of photography,
had an important influence on art evolution. At the end of the 19th century reflecting
reality was not a priority for artists any more. So many artists started experiencing
with colours, atmosphere, sensation and representing their subjective point of view in
their works. This was the beginning of the avant-garde styles of the 20th century.
Sea-Roses, by
Renoir.

4. Impresionism |2|
 Impressionist painters never spoke of themselves using this word (Impressionism). It
was applied to them in a pejorative way by critic Louis Leroy, as he saw
Monet's Impression Dusk or Impression: Raising Sun, painted in 1872 and shown in
an exhibition in 1874. On the following day, doing a parody of the picture's title in
order to make a joke, Leroy gave name to the new movement: ‘When I beheld the
work I thought that my glasses were dirty, what did this canvas mean?.. The picture
had neither up nor down... Impression! Of course, it makes an impression... Coloured
paper in his embrionary state is more complete than this sea-scene'. In this way the
word "Impressionism" became the name of the stream that would make feel proud
even to Leroy himself.
It caused a big scandal, similar to that experienced by Manet. The refined public of
the moment was not ready to accept a revolution like the one that the Impressionists
proposed. Jokes and drastic criticisms they suffered would make them succeed.
Claude Monet reading, by
Renoir.

5. Main features of Impressionism.
 Asymmetrical Balance
 Use of Coloured Shadows
 Use of Pure Color
 Broken Colour or Broken Brushstrokes
 Use of Impasto
 Subjective themes
 High Horizontal Line
 Photographic Influence
 Influence of Japanese Prints
 "En Plein Air“ painting
Alfred Sisley, Le Loing
à Saint-Mammès.

6. Camille Pissarro, Paysanne
poussant une brouette.
PAINTING.
Alfred Sisley, Les berges de l'Oise.

7. Édouard Manet.
 He was the precursor of Impressionism. He admired Velázquez and Goya.
Some of his paintings are: The balcony, The fifer, Olympia, The Luncheon
on the grass.
Édouard Monet, Olympia.
Édouard Manet,
The Balcony. Édouard
Manet, The
Fifer.

8. Claude Monet.
 He was really interested in light and how it can change a landscape. he
made different series of the same theme.
Claude Monet, Claude Monet, Sunrise.
Impression. Claude Monet,
Water lilies.

9. Pierre- Auguste Renoir.
 He was mainly interested in two things: the scenes in open air and the
feminine beauty and sensuality.
Pierre- Auguste
Renoir, Luncheon at
the Boating Party.
Pierre- Auguste
Renoir, Dance at
the Moulin de la
Galette.
Pierre- Auguste Renoir, The
Swing.

10. Edgar Degas.
 He was focused on human figure and movement. He painted scenes of
dancers and racecourses.
Edgar Degas, The
Tub.
Edgar Degas, The dance
Edgar Degas, L
class.
´Absinthe.

11. Alfred Sisley.
 He painted scenes in the open air, such as Flood at Port- Marly.
Alfred Sisley,
Passerelle
d'Argenteuil
Alfred Sisley, Flood at
Port- Marly.
Alfred Sisley,
Le canal
Saint-Martin.

12. Camille Pissarro.
 As Alfred Sisley he painted scenes in the open air, such as Boulevard
Montmartre.
Camile Pissarro, Camille Pissarro, La Moisson. Camille
Boulevard Pissarro, Le
Montamartre at Jardin à
night. Pontoise.

13. IMPRESSIONISM IN
SPAIN
Sorolla, Sad Inheritance.

14. Sorolla.
 His most important paintings were his beach paintings, which can be
classified as belonging to this style.
Sorolla, Castilla.
Sorolla, Children on Sorolla, Walk on the
the Seashore. Beach.

15. SCULPTURE.
Auguste Rodín, The age of
Bronze.

16. Auguste Rodin
 He used multiple planes to get light effects. Some of his main works
of art were: The kiss, The thinker and Balzac.
Auguste Rodin, The
Auguste Rodin, The Kiss. Auguste Rodin,
Burghers of Calais.
Balzac.

17. Explanation of a painting:
 Claude Monet: Rouen Cathedral. It corresponds to the series of
paintings of the Rouen Cathedral.
"Rouen Cathedral", Claude Monet. It was made between 1892
and 1893 and reworked in Monet´s studio in 1894. The
material used was oil on canvas. There are 17 different
version of this painting. This one is located in the National
Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., USA. The meaning of this
painting was the purpose of showing that light could change a
landscape. It can be considered as belonging to
Impressionism because of the use of light. It has a lot of
importance because he selected what he considered to be the
twenty best paintings from the series to exhibit at his Paris
dealer’s gallery and it influenced other artist too, like Pissarro
and Cézanne. Some important information is that apart from
its religious significance, Rouen Cathedral–built in the Gothic
style–represented all that was best in French history and
culture, being a style of architecture that was admired and
adopted by many European countries during the Middle Ages.
Monet made a lot of paintings about this theme, he used
different colours to represent his interest in light.

18. Explanation of a sculpture:
 Auguste Rodin: The Thinker
It was made in 1902, now it's in the Museé Rodin in
Paris. There are some twenty other original castings as
well as various other versions, studies, and posthumous
castings. It represents a man in sober meditation battling
with a powerful internal struggle. It's often used in
philosophy. It's considered the best sculpture and most
representative of Impressionism. He was in origin named
"The Poet" the piece was part of a commission by
the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris to create a
monumental portal to act as the door of the museum.
It's made in bronze and marble. As you can see it´s an
impressionist sculpture because of the expression of
“The Thinker”.

19. Sources:
 Campo de Criptana Cristina Blanco and Paqui Perez Fons (2011). Social
Sciences History 4th Year ESO.
 Anonimous writter. "The Thinker", web site "Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia", entered in the 28th of April of 2012, consulted in the 28th of
April of 2012. URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thinker
 Beatriz Aragonés Escobar. "Impressionism", sitio web "Spanisharts",
consulted in the 28th of April of 2012. URL: http://www.spanisharts.com/
history/del_impres_s.XX/impresionismo/i_impresionismo.html