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Writer's pictureTan Sher Lynn
Oct 12, 20173 min read

Impressionism

The industrial revolution had a major impact on the way of life of the people, which subsequently impacted the way art was expressed and presented. Machines started taking over people's life, driving them to congested factories in lower-class end of the cities that worked them in inhuman ways. It was an era of rejection when artist, painters and poet alike started expressing the colours of the society then through their art. Poet and story-teller such as Charles Baudelaire and Edgar Allan Poe both expressed their concern of the technological era of classes of bourgeois and proletariat, and highlights the monotonous lifestyle of middle classes that seem to drain the life and creativity of the people. Technologies have had such major impact on the mentality and expression of artist, the invention of the camera forced artists to go beyond the studio to produce different works, at the same time paint tubes made that possible and more convenient for them to do so. It was a rapid change in society as well as art.

Édouard Manet's Olympia (left) became a controversial topic when it was exhibited at the Paris Salon at 1865. Since ancient times, nudes of women have been represented in a sensual and erotic way, often clothed by mythology. For example, the sheer beauty of Roman goddess Venus was almost always depicted through nudity and exuded a certain sensual charm. Titian's Venus of Urbino was the immediate reference Manet used for Olympia, however, Manet challenged the established formulaic ideas of classical arts when he stripped away not only the academic standards and techniques of art but also the mythological element of the original and reinvented the piece in a rather radical manner. Olympia was in fact modeled after a real woman, Victorine Meurent, she does not have the idealized features, her pose more dominant and confronting as compared to other representations of nude where women appears to be more coy and passive, and most importantly her strong gaze that stares right at the viewers highlights the reality of the presence of a nude woman. Manet confronted the corruption in Paris by boldly addressing prostitution as Olympia was a common name for courtesan in Paris at the time, unmasking illusions and reminding the audience that our interest here is rather sexual. In other famous works of Manet, he often gave women a personality and expression, often naked but sentient and provocative, making a statement on the reality of the modern society and people of the time recognized these elements and were baffled by the bluntness of them.

Impressionism an art movement that took place around the 19th century was said to be influenced by Manet, the art style deviated from tradition by applying pure colours in broader brushstrokes, catching impressions of fleeting lights and colours instead of a finely finished and detailed work. The subject matter was just as innovative as the techniques, deviating from the historical themes, impressionist started moving outdoors and often painted contemporary scenes of modern urban life, a style in which art is depicted as though a person only caught a glimpse of the scene. 1876, impressionist art entered its age of glory three years after an independent group of artists exhibited their work. Camille Pissaro, Edgar Degas, Alfred Sisley, Claude Monet and Berthe Moriso were some of the greatest impressionist during the era. The revolution of art in the 19th century marks the beginning of contemporary arts, Pointilism, Fauvism and other forms of painting developed subsequently. Artist at the time pushed the boundaries of artistic freedom, changing the way the people perceive art and the idea of beauty.

 

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