ART F200X Romantic Era Blog

 Impressionist Art

Water Lilies

Claude Monet:

Date: 1906

Giverny, France

In 1906 Monet painted the above piece of art as part of a series of natural impressionist paintings and stated “One instant, one aspect of nature contains it all” when referring to his masterpieces.  This painting is called Water Lilies with the focus being on the surreal and patient serene and natural moment of just the water, the reflection of the shore edge trees, and of course the forefront of the painting, the water lilies. Also showing the very subtle sunset with the reflections of purple in the water showing the passage of time from the interesting angle of looking down and forward slightly.

Alexander J Cassatt and his son Robert Kelso 

Mary Cassatt

Date:1884

Paris, France

In December of 1884, The Casset Family visited Alexander Cassest’s parents and sister Mary. On the vacation, Alexander Cassatt and his son Robert Casset shared a tender embrace that displayed their bond, as well as their similar features, with their eyes, focused down, red cheeks, and black clothing with a white shirt underneath. A wholesome private moment caught and painted with dull muted colors at an angled view from the side looking over to the Cassatt's. With the curtain pattern matching the chair they are sitting on.

---

Post-Impressionist Art

Starry Night

Vincent van Gogh

Date: 1889

Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France

Vincent van Gogh painted Starry Night while staying at an asylum. Saint-Paul-de-Mausole near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence is where the asylum was located. Van Gogh was plagued by mental illness and was not stable during much of his life and art was his outlet. Van Gogh stayed in the hospital where he had far more freedom and benefits than the other patients. If Van Gogh had an attendant with him he could leave the hospital grounds and even allowed to paint. The special treatment didn’t stop there, Van Gogh was even given a studio. Painted from the vantage point of a hill looking over the town with a cypress tree on the left. The warped bends of rolling hills and clouds as well as the effect being applied to the houses and church all with an almost unnatural whimsical dream-like feeling.

Self-Portrait 'Les Miserables'

Paul Gauguin

Date: 1888

Pont-Aven, France

Gauguin and Van Gogh were friends who used to send each other paintings and this painting above is one of them. This painting is a self-portrait but is done from the perspective of someone looking at Gauguin but with the light behind him as the shadows are in the front of his face and body. Although this is a self-portrait the color and lighting are not in the traditional realistic tones or colors. It looks as though it is a dream with the colors being muted yet powerful, I am not sure of the words to describe this painting but I would say bold and vivid. 

---

Comparison

Elements

Style: All of the paintings had very striking colors, muted and not vibrant but still strong and great contrast of the backgrounds to the subject/s. I have come to like the color yellow or light gold and my favorite painting of the four here is the Self-Portrait 'Les Miserables' by Paul Gauguin as it has the best colors and style, in my opinion, The two post-impressionist paintings have dream-like distorted features while the impressionist paintings show artist impression of a real event. Another major difference is that 

Philosophy: The two impressionist paintings in my eyes are about natural moments but not as they were in real life but instead an impression of the moment. The two post-impressionist paintings are natural moments but with distorted forms and expressive colors that are unnatural through the lens of an artist as if it were a response to impressionist art. Impressionism paved the way for post-impressionist works and even more bold and challenging art such as cubism and fauvism.

Works Cited

Artst. “Impressionism vs Post Impressionism - What's the Difference?” Artst, 20 Jan. 2021, www.artst.org/impressionism-vs-post-impressionism/.

Monet, Claude. “Water Lilies.” The Art Institute of Chicago, Painting and Sculpture of Europe, 1 Jan. 1970, www.artic.edu/artworks/16568/water-lilies.

“Paul Gauguin, Self-Portrait with Portrait of Émile Bernard (Les Misérables) (Video).” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-modern/avant-garde-france/post-impressionism/v/paul-gauguin-self-portrait-with-portrait-of-mile-bernard-les-misrables.

“Portrait of Alexander J. Cassatt and His Son, Robert Kelso Cassatt.” Philadelphia Museum of Art, philamuseum.org/collection/object/104479.

Sketch.inc, et al. “The Controversial Life and Art of Post-Impressionist Painter Paul Gauguin.” My Modern Met, 8 Sept. 2020, mymodernmet.com/paul-gauguin-paintings/.

“Van Gogh Starry Night: Van Gogh Gallery.” Van Gogh Starry Night - The Painting and The Story, www.vangoghgallery.com/painting/starry-night.html.