Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Realism free essay sample

During the late 19th century and early 20th centuries, Realism, Impressionism, and Post- Impressionism were forms of art that transpired. These techniques in art brought a sense of individualism to Europe; thus, people were inspired to make art that represented society. Realism, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism reflected European Society through their expressions of depicting life as it truly was, hastily capturing moments in time, and painting nature as the artist conceptualized them, not how it really was. Realism was an art form, prominently created in France, where life was depicted as it truly was, nothing exaggerated, amplified, or idealized. Art in the 19th and 20th centuries created art for â€Å"art sakes†. As opposed to the depending on patrons to fund artist’s works such as the church and nobles, they had a sense of artistic freedom and hoped to make money by selling to the general public. This is a distinct contrast to the Renaissance and Baroque periods when the elite appointed artists to create art specifically for their taste. We will write a custom essay sample on Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Realism or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Realistic supporters used art to portray life as it truly was, and to express themselves. Art was subtle, sublime, and mundane, characteristics or realism in art. Artists sent their greatest works to the Paris Salon to be judged, in which ironically, their art was rejected due to its ordinary subject matter and bland style. Francois Millet, a realistic artist depicts farmwomen gleaning the fields after the harvest in The Gleaners. Honore Daumier depicts a grandmother, a daughter, and her infant traveling on a railroad in Third-Class Carriage. This painting is a prime example of how the railroad positively impacted the lives of peasants, making it possible to travel, or move to the cities. Realism didn’t only pertain to painting, but also to literature. Thomas Hardy, an English realistic writer and poet, authored Tess of the d’Urbervilles, which depicted an unmarried woman being ostracized for having pre-marital sex. Another English writer Mary Ann Evans, or George Eliot, her pen name, examined ways in which people are shaped by their social class as well as their own inner endeavors, conflicts, and moral choices. Their analysis and writings depicted the realities of life and trends that occurred in the 19th century in the most realistic manner. Impressionism was another style of art that arose in the 19th and 20th centuries. This style was meant to capture a moment in time, quickly, leaving highly visible brush strokes. Painters sought to capture the momentary overall feeling, or impression, of light falling on a real-life scene before their eyes. The impact of photography and cameras made creating highly realistic photos something obsolete and artists now moved from trying to perfectly catching an image to speed painting. This can be seen as a branch of realism, just painted faster. Claude Monet was the primary impressionist painter. Impression Sunrise is considered the first impressionist painting, which depicts the countryside in Giverny, France. In contrary to Monet, Camille Pissarro was deemed as the â€Å"father of impressionism. † Pierre Auguste Renoir, a French impressionist painter, produced Le Bal au Moulin de la Galette, which depicts a typical Sunday afternoon in Paris, and he also created landscapes and candid nude figures. Impressionism gave way to Post-Impressionism later in the 19th century. Post-Impressionism was the desire to know and depict worlds of emotion and imagination; in other words, creating the worlds the way artist perceives it, not the way it truly was. It sought to portray unseen worlds other than the visible world of fact. Cubism was a technique used that concentrated on zigzagging lines and overlapping planes, which were used by several post impressionist artists. Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cezanne, and Pablo Picasso were major post impressionist artists that produced masterpieces that are sought after till this day. Starry Night, by Vincent van Gogh was a salient image of post-impressionism due to its surreal style that kept it distinct from the real world, or any works from impressionism or realism. This was the way van Gogh perceived that night, not how it truly was. Paul Cezanne particularly committed to from and ordered design. His later works became increasingly abstract and nonrepresentational. His style moved from a three-dimensional realm, to a more two- dimensional perspective, much like Pablo Picasso, a profound post impressionist painter. Picasso is considered a post impressionist painter and a cubist, in which his art fell into both categories. Cubism was abstract and contained zigzagging lines that overlapped. Art over the years had meaning, but gradually morphed into nonrepresentational pieces of art that could not be analyze. His style of cubism, which he developed in 1907, paved the way for modern art of the 20th century to emerge. Ultimately, realism, Impressionism, and post-impressionism reflected society in Europe in the late 19th and 20th centuries, in which it depicted societies trends, and everyday lifestyles. However in post-impressionism, art became more abstract, thus, it wasn’t analytical. Many artists contributed to their styles and are seen as major and influential people in the history of the arts.