5 important French IMPRESSIONIST painters

The Impressionism is a groundbreaking artistic movement that put aside all perceptions of academicism to opt for a freer language and spontaneous, moving from the rigidity of studies to painting outdoors and taking as themes nature and scenes of life everyday. The aim was to capture the effects of light on landscapes and objects, using quick and loose brushstrokes and light colors. One of the great figures of Impressionism was Claude monet, whose work Impression, rising sun gave its name to the movement after the first group exhibition of the impressionist group in 1874 in Paris.

In this lesson from unPROFESOR.com we offer you a selection of the leading French impressionist painters so you can meet the protagonists of one of the most influential artistic movements and a true turning point in the history of art.

Index

1. List of Important French Impressionist Painters
2. Claude Monet (1840 - 1926)
3. Édouard Manet (1832 - 1883)
4. Pierre Auguste Renoir (1841-1919)
5. Berthe Morisot (1841-1895)
6. Edgar Degas (1834-1917)

In that first collective exhibition of the main French Impressionist painters in Paris in 1874 were the main names of Impressionism: the aforementioned Monet, Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas and Paul Cezanne, also being included in this nucleus of the most outstanding artists of the movement Edouard Manet, Camille Pissarro, Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassat, Gustave Caillebotte, Frédéric Bazille, and Marie Bracquemond are also often associated with the movement.

Claude monet is one of the key figures of Impressionism, his painting being Impression, rising sun, which gave its name to the movement after a pejorative comment from a critic, while his series Water lilies It is one of the most representative of his aesthetic principles. Claude Monet was considered the painter of the ephemeral and of water, leaving aside all academic conventions.

Thus, and thanks to the invention of paint tubes, Monet turned to the plein air paint, making his Japanese garden at Giverny the setting for many of his works. The invention of photography and new theories of color and light contributed to the appearance of the so-called impressionist brushstroke: a brushstroke that breaks up the contours and create the optical mixture of colors on the viewer's retina.

Among his favorite subjects are forests, sunrises, seascapes and twilights, capturing the environment and atmospheres beyond objects and figures. Thus, its views of the Saint-Lazare station, the Thames or the Rouen cathedral are famous. Woman are umbrella or The Nymphae Pond they are two of the most studied and known works of him.

Manetis he more atypical of the impressionists, considering himself as a bridge figure between realism and impressionism. Manet painted following the classical technique, but dealing with issues that did not fall within the canons of academicism. Thus, his work The Luncheon on the Grass (1863), It was a scandal to show a naked woman with two dressed gentlemen while she spends a day having lunch in the field.

However, this theme aroused the admiration of the Impressionists, although it also touched on unusual themes for this style, such as bullfighting festivals and bullfighters. Other works by Manetmore realistic cutting are: Olympia (1863), The Fife (1866), The Execution of Emperor Maximilian or The Balcony (1869), moving to a more impressionistic style in works such as Claude Monet working on his boat or the emblematic The Folies Bergere bar (1882).

Renoir stands out for a style full of warmth, voluptuousness and sensuality, focusing on painting the female human figure. Some works in which he captures cheerful and friendly landscapes and scenes.

Among his best known works are the Dancing at the Moulin de la Galette (1876), which reflects Parisian life in Montmartre, The Bathers (1918-1919), La Grenouillere (1869) or The Rowers' Lunch (1881).

One of the most outstanding painters of Impressionism was Berthe Morisot, an artist who was married to Manet's brother and responsible for turning his work upside down and going out to paint al plein air.

Morisot's work is full of poetry and is intimate and with a touch of a certain romanticism, showing themes such as maternity or feminine hygiene, as well as scenes in landscapes, on terraces or windows. Among his most outstanding works we find pieces as fantastic as The cradle (1872), Young man in dance costume (1879), The port of Nice (1882) or Summer day, are some of the most remarkable works of him.

Degas was another of the most prominent French Impressionist painters. Work painter, sculptor and master of the pastel technique. His almost obsessive theme was dance and dance scenes. Although considered one of the most famous Impressionists, Degas considered himself realistic, since he liked the finished drawing in the style of Ingres, in addition to not being very interested in the landscape, preferring the interiors and the study of the body and movement. From Impressionism he took an interest in Photography and for the japanese prints.

His works of dancers like Dance class (1874) are among the best known of his artistic production, in addition to other titles such as Absinthe (1876) and the Concorde Square (1876).

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