Impressionism

A 19th century art movement, Impressionism began as a loose association of Paris-based artists exhibiting their art publicly in the 1860’s. Impressionist art is a style in which the artist captures the image of an object just as someone would see it if they caught a glimpse of it. Often referred as ‘optical realism’, the impressionist paintings are made using lot of color and most of these pictures are outdoor scenes. These pictures are very bright and vibrant.

Impressionist paintings are usually characterized by visible brushstrokes, open composition, emphasis on light in its changing qualities, ordinary subject matter, inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience and unusual visual angles. Colors are generally applied side-by-side with as little mixing as possible to create a vibrant surface. In pure impressionism, use of black paint is generally avoided. Impressionist paintings do not exploit the transparency of thin paint films; in fact impressionist painting is typically opaque. The play of natural light is emphasized to produce effects. A common practice in case of outdoor paintings is that, the shadows are boldly painted with sky blue color to add a sense of freshness and openness to the painting.

There are numerous painters known to practice impressionist paintings. However, there are a few famous artists in this respect:

• Gustave Caillebotte
• Mary Cassatt
• Alfred Sisley
• Vincent van Gogh
• Pierre-Auguste Renoir
• Claude Monet
• Edgar Degas
• Armand Guillaumin
• Camille Pissarro
• Berthe Morisot