In the late 1700’s, the artists that had been traditionally in the service of society, mainly the Church and courts, found that their patrons had changed to art dealers that catered for the rising affluent upper middle class. These newly rich patrons relied on journalistic critics to establish the standards of artistic values. The younger and more innovative painters rebelled against the rule of this establishment.

(Click on the paintings to enlarge) 

 

John Singer Sargent, Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, 1885-86. Oil on canvas, 174 x 153.7cm.
London, Trustees of the Tate Gallery.

 

 

In France, the salons became the main forum to present the artists’ works to the potential patrons and the press.

The new innovative painters rejected romanticism of the 1830’s and 1840’s, and delved deep into contemporary life. They departed from the drama of romantic paintings of exotic subjects, and instead appealed to the emotions of the viewers through the artists’ own feelings.

 In the latter half of the 19th century, a group of artists in France left the confines of their studios, and painted what they saw around them in open air. Among them were Monet, Cezanne, Renoir, Pissarro, Degas, and Berthe Morisot.

The term Impressionism was derived from Monet’s painting ‘Impression: Sunrise(1873)’. The word was used by the unfriendly art critic Louis Leroy to describe the group, meaning that the paintings were unfinished and lacked details and laborious work that traditional artists had done.
However, more sympathetic critics had taken up the term in an alternative sense to describe the visual experience that was transitory and rapid: the Impression stamped on the senses.

To describe an impressionist painter, Theodore Duret gave this account:
“The Impressionist sits on a river bank, depending on the weather, his angle of vision, the time of day, and whether its windy or still, the water takes on every possible tone, and he paints, unhesitatingly, the water and all its tones.

Edgar Degus, The Dancer, 1874, Oil on canvas, 142.5 x 94.5 cm.
Widener Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, U.S.A

Courbet and the Barbizon School influenced the artists to work towards a sincere understanding of nature. Common people like peasants found themselves subject matters of great masters, as if the poverty of the underclass was sentimentalized. Politically that also signified that the common people were ready to govern.
In 1874 at the first Impressionist exhibition, Degas stated that “there must be a salon of the realists”. He has always insisted that he was not an Impressionist, perhaps because of the unpopularity of the Artists among the art critics of the time. But he remained firmly involved with the movement. As demonstrated in his ballet dancers in the 1870’s, the light reflecting on their tulles and the shimmer of net contrasting with satin bows all revealed the influence of the Impressionist.

Laura Knight. The beach, 1908. Oil on canvas, 127.5 x 153 cm.
Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear Museums.

 

The Impressionist approach was avant-garde and revolutionary, and not interested in telling stories and painting morals of the academic painters.
Furthermore, they applied color in looser and more distinct brush strokes,
rather than blending into even shades and tones. Although originated in France, Impressionism soon developed throughout other western countries.