Definition and History
The impressionist style of painting is characterized chiefly by concentration on the general impression produced by a scene or object and the use of unmixed primary colors and small strokes to simulate actual reflected light. The word ``impressionniste'' was printed for the first time in the Charivari on the 25 April 1874 by Louis Leroy, after Claude Monet's landscape entitled Impressions: soleil levant [Impressions]. This word was used to call Exposition des Impressionnistes an exhibit hold in the salons of the photographer Nadar and organized by the ``Société anonyme des peintres, sculpteurs et graveurs'' [``Anonymous society of painters, sculptors and engravers''], composed of Pissarro, Monet, Sisley, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Guillaumin and Berthe Morisot.
Impressionism, French Impressionnisme, a major movement, first in painting and later in music, that developed chiefly in France during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Impressionist painting comprises the work produced between about 1867 and 1886 by a group of artists who shared a set of related approaches and techniques. The most conspicuous characteristic of Impressionism was an attempt to accurately and objectively record visual reality in terms of transient effects of light and colour. The principal Impressionist painters were Claude Monet, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, Alfred Sisley, Berthe Morisot, Armand Guillaumin, and Frédéric Bazille, who worked together, influenced each other, and exhibited together independently. Edgar Degas and Paul Cézanne also painted in an Impressionist style for a time in the early 1870s. The established painter Édouard Manet, whose work in the 1860s greatly influenced Monet and others of the group, he adopted the Impressionist approach about 1873.
The founders of this society were animated by the will to break with the official art. The official theory that the color should be dropped pure on the canvas instead of getting mixed on the palette will only be respected by a few of them and only for a couple of years. In fact, the Impressionism is a lot more a state of the mind than a technique; thus artists other than painters have also been qualified of impressionists. Many of these painters ignore the law of simultaneous contrast as established by Chevreul in 1823. The expressions ``independants'' or ``open air painters'' may be more appropriate than ``impressionists'' to qualify those artists continuing a tradition inherited from Eugène Delacroix, who thought that the drawing and colors were a whole, and English landscape painters, Constable, Bonington and especially William Turner, whose first law was the observation of nature, as for landscape painters working in Barbizon and in the Fontainebleau forest.
This Impressionism Painting done March, 2010 using acrylic and tempera and is titled “Jamptism” which is a fusion of the words Jamaican and baptism. It has images of trees, people, a hill, and a river. The general image portrays a Jamaican Baptism of a young female conducted by a male and a female adult at night in a river with a country landscape. The darkness of the painting creates a mood of peaceful yet concern which is a common feeling for persons who are being baptized.
Analysis
The elements of art were lightly used to create a realistic look with the aim to copy people and things as they would appear in real life. Fewer details were included to create the impressionistic look. Colours were used spontaneously beside each other to create form and both biomorphic and organic shapes. Dark colors were also used to create the illusion of night, shadowy areas as well as to create a timid but spiritual mood. Texture was roughly and spontaneously created by applying thick dabs of paint to the surface of the canvas panel.
Interpretation
My Jamaican background and culture was manifested in this paining. This was done by the presence of landscape especially the banana trees and the fashion. The man in the painting is dressed for church, the young girl being baptized has a wrapped head which is common among Jamaican church members, and the white dressed being worn by the adult female represents purity.
Problems Encountered
It was difficult to bring the painting to life because I started out by painting the whole canvas panel dark then added lighter colours and shaded to it. I was constantly temped to be detail in my attempt and was afraid to spoil the piece by spontaneously adding paint all over. Working with paint as a medium was also challenging because of the time and focus needed to mix colours, wash out the paint- brushes, and using the hairy strands of the brush as opposed to using a single solid point such as a pencil or crayon.
This impressionism painting is titled “Church Yard” and was done in March, 2010 using acrylic paint. It shows the image of a church yard with a church, plants, flowers, coconut trees, grass and the sky. It shows a Jamaican landscape that takes place in the day.
Analysis
Bright colours were used to create the energetic and lively mood of the church. The shapes are not drawn but implied by the layout of dark or light areas such as the doorway or the walk way. Doted lines are created by multiple brush strokes and are used to create shapes such as the shape of the church and the tree. Various textures were created by the various thicknesses of the dabs of paints as well as the choice of colours. The direction of the brush strokes implies the type of texture, for example the scattered and slant brush strokes of sky shows movement while the church has more straight brush strokes to show sturdily and stillness.
Interpretation
The Christian culture of Jamaica is evident in this impressionism painting. The church is and the flora and fauna of the Jamaican landscape is portrayed to create a landscape type of painting. The grass in the church yard is often a reminder of a place of play for children after church.
Problems Encountered
It was difficult not to go in depth in details when doing this impressionism painting. Another problem painting with thick dabs of paint as it tends to make the work wet and can change the original colour if mixed with other dabs of paint while applying to the canvas. Making the images in the painting such as the church and coconut trees identifiable was a challenge when only allowed to use brush spontaneous strokes and thick dabs of paints to create them.
All images © 2013 Nicholas Barrett
