Impressionist Artwork

Giving way to the need to have freedom of expression, impressionist artwork was born. The artistic notions and styles of the period were cast aside and, in their place, was the independence to try new things. Instead of still portraits of posed subjects, the painter now could take the liberty of showing the world as he saw it and depicting what he saw onto the canvas.

The name came from one of the works of Monet that was entitled, “Impression, Sunrise.” From this title of a painting, came the name that was given to this movement.

There was a group of painters that got together and formed a group. It is said that this was the beginning of impressionist artwork and the name of such pieces.

Observers can see things such as subjects that might be missing body parts or, in some other way, unfinished. This type of painting also involves the use of extremely bright colors where once there were only neutral colors used.

Some labeled the use of the bright colors as being too extreme or even being harsh to look at, but, in the end, the style was adapted to and adopted by those painters at work.

The subject matter was mostly people that one would see in everyday life doing things that were routine to them. The way that the figures were captured, it was almost as if they had no idea that they were being painted or observed.

This was a huge break from how these paintings were once done in a studio in a posed position. Impressionist artwork had the intention of showing the observer real life as it happened in motion throughout the day.

Impressionist artwork was a short era that lasted a little over a decade because, by then, many of the artists had moved on to find new painting styles, but the effect of this wonderful type of art has had a lasting place within the art world.

Because a few daring artists decided to do something that was totally unknown to any before them, and because they took a chance on not only depicting what they saw but what they felt, an important era in art was preserved for all eternity.

Impressionist artwork is said to have been the birth of many other styles such as expressionism, fauvism, cubism, realism and many others throughout the years. All of these were part of the modern art movement that lasted a little over a decade, ending in the 1970s.

By capturing not only the essence of everyday life but also the important role that light plays on what is seen and during what period of the day it is being seen, things changed forever.

It is believed that because photography was in its infancy during this time, perhaps this type of art was born in an effort to show the world that a photograph could capture a two dimensional brown and tan shaded picture, but a portrait could portray the vibrant colors of life and so much more.

About the Author: Betz Gallery is an expert in Giclee , impressionist artwork and custom framing.