Impressionism

=**Impressionism**=

Impressionism is a style of painting, established in the late 1800's and early 1900's that concentrates on the general visual impression that is produced by an object or in a scene. Since the Renaissance, most painters had painted paintings using realism so that no brush strokes could be seen. However, new scientific advances allowed young and innovative painters to rebel against the newly established artistic "values" of perfection created by critics. These artists started a new style, eventually called impressionism.

**Characteristics of Impressionism Paintings**
Impressionism is characterized by side-by-side, thick brush strokes that when looked at closely, are completely evident. Usually, the object or scene being painted is painted from a unique angle and with various light sources. The goal of impressionists was to capture nature in its essence, the way it is seen by the human eye. Unlike realists, impressionists embraced the imperfections of nature, and included them in their paintings. Impressionists included all the contours, highlights, and shadows in an object or scene. Instead of painting indoors, where there was only one actual source of light, impressionists painted outdoors under natural light, because of the highlights and shadows it placed upon the scene or object being painted.

This painting above is //Impression : Sunrise//, painted by Impressionist Claude Monet in 1872. When submitted to an art exhibition in 1874, art critic Louis Leroy typified this painting as "half-finished", and used the title of the painting to address the group of artists, calling them "Impressionists". When asked why he had used the title "Impression", Monet said that he had painted the scene by his own impression of the sun shining through the mist. Understanding Monet's explanation, other critics started using the term to describe the transitory element of the paintings. The painting displays the main characteristics of Impressionism: when looking at the details, you can see the thick, unblended brush strokes. In addition, the colors in the sky and the reflection of the sky in the water are aspects that show how the scene looked at the given time and with the given lighting.

**Scientific Influence on Art**
The field of optics had recently been studied more. According to studies, when looking at paintings consisting of colors placed side-by-side the human eye could mix the patches of colors created by the brush strokes, and therefore view the full effect of the painting.

**Technological Influence on Art**
The appearance and popularity of photography freed painters from having to capture precision and exactness in their paintings; photographs could create exact replicas of a scene or object. This let painters experiment with different, more abstract forms of painting- eventually leading to impressionism.

**Process of Painting a Landscape**
Impressionists would paint landscapes and scenes outside, and would often be forced to work for a short period of time. When the sunlight changes significantly, the Impressionist would stop painting and return to the scene on a day when the shadows and highlights created by the sunlight were similar, and continue painting. This process would continue until the painting was finished. This method of painting was made possible due to the wide variety of colors being created and available, and the more portable packaging.