EXHIBITION RECORD
The ABCs of IMPRESSIONISM
Monday, July 15, 2002 through Sunday, September 15, 2002
The Appleton Museum of Art
The ABCs of IMPRESSIONISM
The French Impressionists (1874-1886) aggressively pushed the boundaries
of formal invention. They sought to create a bold new appearance for
paintings: dazzling coloration, objects seen at maximum intensity in the
bright light of day. Subjects dissolved amidst the swirl of a pattern of
brushstrokes.The Impressionist style and approach spread throughout the
world. As artists in America, Britain and Canada became enamored with
the lessons and example of the Impressionist style, they adopted these
options somewhat cautiously. Expressed more positively, one can say that
distinctive differences emerge that reflect the national character of
the art of each country as well as the individual interests of each
artist. There is one general observation can be made that characterizes
much of the Impressionistic painting that occurred in America, Britain
and Canada. French Impressionists preferred paintings to have a dappled
surface, activated and animated with an overall pattern of dabs of pure
color. Thereby the subject matter is somewhat obliterated behind this
orchestration of painterly marks. Artists outside of France seem to have
been uncomfortable to simply accept this preference as a subjective
stylistic choice. Instead, they often sought subject matter that
'naturally' had a similar appearance. For example, making a
representation of a landscape obscured by falling snow, or amidst a rain
shower, engulfed in a blanket of fog, or in the dwindling visibility of
twilight or early morning, provided a 'justification' for ending up with
a painting whose surface treatment appeared more progressive and modern.
A snowstorm naturally dapples dots across the surface of a landscape,
and breaks up the sense of the solidity of forms seen through the screen
of snow. Each individual snowflake justifies a deliberate 'broken
stroke' of a single brush mark left on the surface of the painting. A
scene viewed through fog warrants taking a blending brush and smoothing
and blending the edges of objects. American Impressionist artists
preferred subdued, restrained dignified unified color, perhaps emulating
Whistler. As consequence, some writers refer to American Impressionism
as 'Atmospheric Colorism'.
Post-Impressionism
In 1906, Roger Fry, a British art critic and painter began using the
term Post-Impressionism to describe the style of painting that came
between Impressionism, which ended in 1886, and Cubism, which began
toward the end of 1906. The characteristics of this new movement
differed with each artist, but all produced the same effect of
heightened expressiveness and individualism. Cezanne used geometric
shapes to portray nature and was primarily concerned with the use of
volume and space, Gouguin explored exotic cultures and symbolically used
color and line, Van Gogh captured emotion through his use of bold,
intense colors and sporadic brush strokes. While these artists set the
stage for Post-Impressionism, Canadian artists began to adopt and adapt
many of their ideas to form a movement quite distinctive to themselves.
Post-Impressionism, when it first made its appearance in Canada, was not
well received. It was written that John Lyman's Wild Nature possessed "as much artistic skill as the well-known willow pattern on a plate" and
was a "daub of crude colors." Later articles described the art as
"disastrous," and "disgusting, sensual, leering, hideous figures, devoid
of grace, devoid of humanity, devoid of anything save offensiveness,"
and finally dubbed it a "blustering spirit." Eventually the criticism
died down, and Post-Impressionism began to be looked upon with a more
sympathetic eye. At that point, the artists began to flourish with the
new possibilities of expressiveness, and continued to adapt the style to
make it distinctively Canadian.
The term savage was used quite often to describe the style of
Post-Impressionistic painting-the same term used to describe the
Canadian landscape. Now artists could express the wild and chaotic
nature of their surroundings while in scope of a particular style, which
until that time had remained nearly impossible. Never before had such
immensity in expression been popular, and the openness suited the
conditions of the Canadian landscape. The movement was encouraged
further by the renewal of the general public's interest in nature by
such individuals as Ralph Waldo Emerson, an American Transcendentalist,
Henry David Thoreau, a disciple of Emerson, and Dr. William Brodie, an
important entomologist, ornithologist, and botanist.
Although the Post-Impressionistic movement did not last very long (only
20 years), the impact of it on Canadian art was profound. It gave a
resurgence of life and vitality into the nation's art, because it
offered Canadian artists the opportunity to express themselves and their
personalities beyond all previous limitations. Organized by the Robert
McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa, Canada and circulated through the support
and assistance of The Museums Assistance Program, Department of Canadian
Heritage; Government of Canada.
