The art of light in the world

The French Impressionists attached great importance to the painterly craft and the new perspective. They were concerned with the reference to reality and the attitude to life of the time. As painters of true-to-life realism, they invented pictures that many people still perceive today as images of their own current world. They painted moments in which life was joyfully affirmed. This corresponded to their temperament.

Many other artists and students who came to Paris found opportunities in the Impressionist process: The liberation to experience hitherto unknown brightness and purity, in the tension of unusual details and sketchy open design, found many followers.

Many came to study the new painting in Paris, some of whom made friends with the "old" Impressionists there. The Paris exhibitions were diligently visited and discussed. The new ideas were brought back home and the Impressionist style spread. Students came from all over Europe and America to spread Impressionism throughout the world. The art dealers (e.g. Druant-Ruel in America) were also very committed to popularising the art of Impressionism. Here we will look at artists from some countries who were inspired by French Impressionism. Even if this painting can often only be considered Impressionist to a limited extent, because it was translated into national concepts of art.

 

Netherlands and Belgium

While the Barbizon School had already led to tense artistic debates among Dutch painters, the "Hague School" association of painters, founded around 1875, took a further step towards freer nature painting and brushwork. Further developments led to contacts with the Belgian group "Les Vingt". The latter group invited some of the French Impressionists (such as Berthe Morisot and Camille Pissarro, among others) to their annual exhibitions. All of this increased interest in Impressionist painting in the Netherlands and Belgium and a number of painters worked in this style, sometimes only temporarily, sometimes for the rest of their lives. Some examples:

 

Henri Jacques Edouard Evenepoel

* 3. 10. 1872 in Nizza; † 27. 12. 1899 in Paris

At the Café d'Harcourt in Paris
1897 - 114 x 148 cm - Oil on canvas
Städel Museum, Frankfurt/Main >

 

Emile Claus

* 27. 9. 1849 in Sint-Eloois-Vijve, Belgium; † 14. 6. 1924 in Astene, Belgium

De ijsvogels
1891 - 148 x 205 cm - Oil on canvas
Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Gent >

 

Johannes Theodorus Toorop

* 20. 12. 1858 in Purworejo, Java, Netherlands Indies; † 3. 3. 1928 in Den Haag

 

Trio fleuri (flower trio)
1885/86 - 110 x 95 cm - Oil on canvas
Kunstmuseum Den Haag >

 

Ferdinand Hart Nibbrig

* 5. 4. 1866 in Amsterdam; † 12. 10. 1915 in Laren, Holland

In den Dünen bei Zandvoort
1891/92 - 42 x 58 cm - Oil on canvas
Singer Museum Laren, the Netherlands >

 

Germany

 

Impressionism in Germany only really began with the founding of the Berlin Secession in 1899. It can also be seen that the technique differed fundamentally from that of the French painters. The German painters rejected the method of applying paint with the separation of colours and juxtaposed strokes. The lightening of the palette and the lighter and more lively style of painting was enough. Today, a small number of the members of the Berlin Secession are usually categorised as Impressionists if we look at their work from around 1900 onwards. However, they were only a small part of the German painting landscape alongside Art Nouveau, Symbolism and the already emerging Expressionism, among others. The more important representatives:

 

Max Liebermann

* 20.7. 1847 in Berlin; † 8. 2. 1935 in Berlin

Terrace at Restaurant Jacob in Nienstedten on the Elbe
1902/03 - 70 x 100 cm - Oil on canvas
Hamburger Kunsthalle >

On the beach of Noordwijk
1908 - 46 x 62 cm - Oil on cardboard
Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe >

 

Lovis Corinth

* 21.7. 1858 as Franz Heinrich Louis Corinth in Tapiau, East Prussia; † 17. 7. 1925 in Zandvoort, Province of North Holland

Kaisertag in Hamburg (view from the Neuer Jungfernstieg over the Binnenalster on Kaisertag)
1911 - 92 x 112 cm - Oil on canvas
Wallraf Richards Museum, Köln >

 

Franz Theodor Max Slevogt

* 8. 10. 1868 in Landshut; † 20. 9. 1932 in Leinsweiler-Neukastel/Pfalz

View of the Alster near Hamburg
1905 - 58 x 76 cm - Oil on canvas
Nationalgalerie Alte Nationalgalerie Berlin >

 

Heinrich Wilhelm Trübner

* 3. 2. 1851 in Heidelberg; † 21. 12. 1917 in Karlsruhe

Gate to Neuenburg Abbey
1913 - 62 x 80 cm - Oil on canvas
Kunsthalle Mannheim >

 

Scandinavia

 

Around 1870, Scandinavian artists began to visit Paris more frequently. These trips, which were often financed (both by the state and privately), served to provide artistic guidance in the new art metropolis. However, the influence of French Impressionism was rather limited: they explored it, tried it out, learnt the technical painting techniques, but back home they usually resumed working in the national tradition. Nevertheless, Impressionism paved the way for greater freedom in the use of light and colour and created a new view of reality in Paris. A few nevertheless remained faithful to the painting style. There was very little personal contact with the French Impressionists, but some of them visited the Impressionist exhibitions in Paris in 1874-86 and reported on them.

 

Hans Olav Heyerdahl

* 8. 7. 1857 in Smedjebacken, Sweden; † 10. 10. 1913 in Kristiania, today Oslo

 

Vet vinduet (At the window)
1881 - 46 x 37 cm - Oil on canvas
Nationalgalerie Oslo >

 

Christian Krohg

* 13. 8. 1852 in Vestre Aker near Oslo; † 16. 10. 1925 in Oslo

 

Maleren Karl Nordström, Grèz
1882 - 61 x 46 cm - Oil on canvas
Nasjonalmuseet Oslo >

 

Nils Edvard Kreuger

* 11. 10. 1858 in Kalmar; † 11. 5. 1930 in Stockholm

Tattare på Öland
1885 - 32 x 41 cm - Oil on wood
Malmö Museum

 

Peder Severin Krøyer

* 23. 7. 1851 in Stavanger; † 21. 11. 1909 in Skagen

Hip, hip, hurråa! Kustnärfest på Skagen
1887/88 - 134 x 165 cm - Oil on canvas
Göteborgs Konstmuseum >

 

Hanna Pauli

* as Hanna Hirsch 13. 1. 1864 in Stockholm; † 29. 12. 1940 in Saltsjö-Storängen

Frukostdags
1887 - 87 x 91 cm - Oil on canvas
Nationalmuseum Stockholm >

 

Theodor Esbern Philipsen

* 10. 6. 1840 in Copenhagen; † 3. 3. 1920 in Copenhagen

En allé i Kastrup
1891 - 55 x 82 cm - Oil on wooden panel
Museum of Art, Kopenhagen

 

Albert Gustaf Aristides Edelfelt

* 27. 7. 1854 at Kiala gård near Porvoo, Finland; † 18. 8. 1905 in Haikko, Finland

Pariisin Luxembourgin puistossa
1887 - 141 x 186 cm - Oil on canvas
Ateneumin Taidemuseo, Helsinki >

 

Eastern and Southern Europe

Russia, Poland, Czech Republic, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, etc.

In countries in Eastern and Southern Europe, which were dominated by three countries from 1860 onwards (Russia, Austria/Hungary and Turkey), interest in opening up the prevailing Slavic-Orthodox art to an orientation towards Western Europe began. The style of Impressionism was also studied intensively by artists who travelled to France or Italy. In this way, the new ideas were absorbed. However, Impressionism remained the preserve of a small group of artists who rarely became pure Impressionists. For the most part, the artists alternated in their painting style between preserving orthodox culture and modern Western-style painting, finding intermediate solutions. Romantic or symbolist solutions were more characteristic.

 

Russia

 

Isaak Iljitsch Lewitan

* 18. 8. 1860 near Wirballen/Lithuania (then Russia); † 22. 7. 1900 in Moscow

Zolotaja osen (Golden Autumn)
1893 - 82 x 126 cm - Oil on canvas
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow >

 

 

Wassili Dmitrijewitsch Polenow

* 20. 5. 1844in Saint Petersburg; † 18. 7. 1927 in Borok, Tula Government

Moscow Court II (Moskowskji dworik)
1878 - 64 x 80 cm - Oil on canvas
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow >

 

Konstantin Alexejewitsch Korowin

* 23. 11. 1861 in Moscow; † 11. 9. 1939 in Paris

 

Parisian Café (Pariskoe kafé)
nach 1890 - 50 x 61 cm - Oil on canvas
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow >

 

Walentin Alexandrowitsch Serow

* 7. 1. 1865 in Saint Petersburg; † 22. 11. 1911 in Moscow

 

Girl with Peaches (Portrait of Vera Savvishna Mamontova)
1887 - 91 x 85 cm - Oil on canvas
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow >

 

Poland

The strong interest in independent culture in the then three dominions (Germany/Austria/Russia) led to a belated Impressionist painting of only short duration. Representative of Polish Impressionists:

 

Władysław Podkowiński

* 4. 2. 1866 in Warsaw; † 5. 1. 1895 in Warsaw

Lupine field - Pole łubinu
1881 - 49 x 61 cm - Oil on wood
Muzéum Narodówe, Krakau >

 

Czechia

Within the Habsburg Empire, the Czechs had a very self-assured view of art. The connections to Vienna, Munich and, above all, Paris were manifold. Knowledge of Impressionism began early on in the early 1870s. A representative of Czech Impressionism:

 

Antonín Slavíček

* 16. 5. 1870 in Prague, Austria-Hungary; † 1. 2. 1910 in Prague

 

A walk in the park (V parku procházce)
1897 - 69 x 53 cm- Tempera on cardboard
Národní galerie, Prag >

 

Hungary and Romania

One of a small number of Hungarian painters who sometimes only worked impressionistically for a short time:

 

Károly Ferenczy

* 8. 2. 1862 in Vienna, Austrian Empire as Carl Freund; †18. 3. 1917 in Budapest, Austria-Hungary

Summer day - Majális (Nyári nap)
1906 - 105 x 106 cm - Oil on canvas
Magyar Nemzeti Galéria Budapest >

 

Ion Andreescu

* 15. 2. 1850 in Bukarest; † 22. 10. 1882 Bukarest

Winter at Barbizon (Iarna da Barbizon)
1884 - 54 x 65 cm - Oil on canvas
Muzeul k. H. Zambaccian, Bukarest - The National Museum of Art of Romania >

 

Italy

 

From 1855, a group of realist painters called the Macchiaioli (stains) formed in Italy. They used a technique that was more sketchy, but the colours were more similar to those of the Barbizon painters. Their painting was therefore very different to Impressionism: the light-hearted cheerfulness in colours or motifs was alien to it. There was little connection to French Impressionism.

 

Giovanni Fattori

* 25. 10. 1825 in Livorno; † 30. 8.t 1908 in Florence

Pagliaio
1880 - 24 x 42 cm - Oil on cardboard
Museo Civico Giovanni Fattori, Livorno >

 

Silvestro Lega

* 8. 12. 1826 in Modigliana; † 21. 11. 1895 in Florence

‪il pergolato‬
1868 - 72 x 92 cm - Oil on canvas
Pinacoteca di Brera >

 

Telemaco Signorini

* 18. 8. 1835 in Florence; † 10. 2. 1901 Florence

Borgo di Porta Adriana a Ravenna
1875 - 66 x 100 cm - Oil on canvas
Galeria Nationale d'Arte, Rom >

 

Around the middle of the 1870s, the heyday of the Macchiaioli was over and Italian artists were drawn abroad and to Paris. A mutual interest arose, as Degas was very much in favour of the Italian artists of the time. Some came to Paris and stayed.

 

Federico Zandomeneghi

* 2. 6. 1841 in Venice; † 31. 12. 1917 in Paris
He took part in four of the Impressionist exhibitions from 1879 onwards.

Figura femminile seduta lungo la Senna
1878 - 16 x 29 cm - Oil on wood
Galleria Pitti, Florence >

 

Donna al balcone
46 x 38,5 cm - Oil on canvas
Società di Belle Arti, Viareggio >

 

Giuseppe Gaetano De Nittis

* 25. 2. 1846 in Barletta; † 22. 8. 1884 in St-Germain-en-Laye near Paris

Colezione in giardino
1884 - 81 x 117 cm - Oil on canvas
Pinacoteca Giuseppe de Nittis, Barletta >

 

Great Britain

 

British painters who used the Impressionist style in their work were more interested in social content and the human figure. Degas and Manet were the main models for pictorial content. Monet was admired more for his virtuosity in the use of colour and light. It was not until the mid-1980s that an interest in the Impressionist style of painting began to germinate in Great Britain as an alternative to the prevailing Victorian art of the academies. The intensity with which painters explored Impressionism varied greatly, as was the case throughout Europe.

 

Philip Wilson Steer

* 28. 12. 1860 Birkenhead, Cheshire; † 18. 3. 1942, London

 

Young Woman on the Beach, Walberswick
1886/88 - 125 x 91 cm - Oil on canvas
Musée d'Orsay, Paris >

 

Laura Knight

* 4. 8. 1877 in Long Eaton, England; † 7. 7. 1970 in London

Wind and Sun
ca. 1913 - 96 x 112 cm - Oil on canvas
Pyms Galllery, London >

 

Walter Richard Sickert

* 31. 5. 1860 in Munic; † 22. 1. 1942 in Bath, England

 

Bathers at Dieppe
ca. 1902 - 131 x 104 cm - Oil on canvas
Walkers Art Gallery, Liverpool >

 

James Guthrie

* 10. 6. 1859 in Greenock, Inverclyde; † 6. 9. 1930 in Rhy, Dunbartonshire

The Morning Paper
1890 - 52 x 62 cm - Pastel on paper
Fine Art Society, London >

 

Henry Herbert La Thangue

* 19. 1, 1859 in London; † 21. 12. 1929 in London

 

In the Orchard
1893 - 83 x 72 cm - Oil on canvas
City Art Gallery and Museum, Cartwright Hall, Bradford >

 

Wynford Dewhurst

* 26. 1. 1864 in Manchester; † 9. 7. 1941 in Burton-upon-Trent

Luncheon on the Grass (The Picnic)
1908 - 82 x 101 cm - Oil on canvas
City Art Gallery, Manchester >

 

James Henry Charles

* 5. 1. 1851 in Warrington, Lancashire; † 27. 8. 1906 in Llandyrnog, Denbighshire

The Picnic
1904 - 38 x 54 cm - Oil on canvas
Museum and Art Gallery, Warrington >

 

North America

 

Impressionism became known in North America through the art dealer Durand-Ruel. In 1886, the year of the last exhibition in Paris, he travelled to New York with almost 300 paintings by the famous Impressionists. The exhibition was such a great success that it was extended once again in other exhibition spaces. American painters had already travelled to Europe years earlier (Düsseldorf, Munich and then Paris). However, art students were more tempted by the more traditional programmes offered by the academies. The Barbizon painters became role models. The Impressionists in Paris were only registered later and so from 1886 (also through the presentations of Durand-Ruel in America) the influence began. It can be said that American painters adopted Impressionist stylistic devices and types of painting, but tended to practise their own style of painting. Even today, there is no consensus as to whether American painters are true Impressionists or have found their own form.

 

John Singer Sargent

* 12. 1. 1856 in Florence; † 14. 4. 1925 in London

Claude Monet painting at the edge of a wood
1887 - 53 x 64 cm - Oil on canvas
The Tate Gallery, London >

 

Frederick Childe Hassam

* 17. 10. 1859 in Dorchester, Massachusetts; † 27. 8. 1935 in East Hampton/ Long Island, New York

Rainy Day, Columbus Avenue, Boston
1885 - 66 x 122 cm - Oil on canvas
Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo (Ohio) >

 

William Merritt Chase

* 1. 11. 1849 in Williamsburg, today Niniveh, Indiana; † 25. 10. 1916 in New York

End of Season
1885 - 35 x 45 cm - Pastel on paper
Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, South Hadley (Massachusetts) >

 

John Leslie Breck

* 10. 4. 1860 during a cruise near Guam; † 18. März 1899 in Boston

Suzanne Hoschedé-Monet Sewing
1888 - 46 x 56 cm - Oil on canvas
Mint Museum, Charlotte, USA >

 

John Henry Twachtman

* 4. 8. 1853 in Cincinnati; † 8. 8. 1902 in Gloucester, Massachusetts

Winter Harmony
ca. 1890/1900 - 65 x 81 cm - Oil on canvas
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC >

 

Theodore Robinson

* 3. 7. 1852 in Irasburg, Vermont; † 2. April 1896 in New York City

La débácle
1892 - 46 x 56 cm - Oil on canvas
Scripps College, Claermont (Californien)

 

Julian Alden Weir

* 30. 8. 1852 in West Point, New York; † 8. 12. 1919 in New York

The Red Bridge
1898 - 62 x 85 cm - Oil on canvas he
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York >

 

Frank Weston Benson

* 24. 3. 1862 in Salem, Massachusetts; † 14. 11. 1951 Salem, Massachusetts

 

Lady Trying on a Hat (The Black Hat)
1904 - 102 x 82 cm - Oil on canvas
RISD Museum, Providence, Rhode Island >

 

Art from 1886 Impressionists from 1886 Inspiration Pointillism Post-Impressionism