Impressionism, one of the most popular styles in the history of art, derives its name from an insult aimed at Claude Monet’s 1872 painting, Impression, Sunrise.

Leaving behind the dark colors, smooth surfaces, and subjects approved by the official Salon, the Impressionists painted with bright colors, let their brushstrokes show, and focused on scenes of everyday life. In fact, the artists’ goal was to capture an impression of what the eye sees in a fleeting glance.

Fri, Dec. 11: Impressionism Pt. I: Degas and Monet
Edgar Degas (1834-1917) is famous for his depictions of ballerinas—although more often in class and behind the scenes than on stage performing gracefully. He was called a “linear Impressionist,” a term he hated for its implication of careless accidental painting.

Claude Monet (1840-1926), key to the founding of Impressionism, painted outdoors in order to capture fleeting weather and atmospheric conditions on canvas. He painted with vivid tones using a technique referred to as “broken color.”

Fri, Dec. 18: Impressionism Pt. II: Morisot and Renoir
Berthe Morisot (1841-95) and her friend Mary Cassatt were rare women Impressionist painters in Paris. Morisot was praised by the other Impressionists for her skill in handling color. Favoring high value pastel tones, she painted portraits and landscapes.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919), with his upbeat personality, continued to paint sensuous nudes when confined to a wheelchair with the brush strapped to his hand. Even when suffering chronic pain, painting was his preferred medicine.

This program takes place from 12-2:15 pm.

Post-Impressionism was less a reaction against Impressionism than a desire to improve upon it. Turning away from Impressionism’s intentionally objective recording of what the eye sees to a more personal interpretation, some Post-Impressionists painted slowly, methodically, using color for pictorial structure, while others used unnatural colors to convey their own emotion and to evoke emotion in the viewer. Unlike the Impressionists who exhibited together in Paris, the Post-Impressionists did not coalesce as a group.

1. Paul Cézanne (1839-1906), perhaps the slowest painter ever, took up to 20 minutes between brushstrokes, which he referred to as “little planes.” Yet his methodical approach would lead to Analytical Cubism in the early 20^th century.

2. Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) abandoned a successful life in finance in Paris (as well as his wife and five children), for an exotic life of travel, especially to Martinique and Tahiti, seeking an unspoiled, non-European life. His colorful paintings evoke his new tropical surroundings.

3. Vincent van Gogh (1853-90) painted highly charged images executed quickly with pure brilliant colors, thick paint, and rapid brushstrokes. His paintings reflect the severe emotional swings he suffered; his life would end in suicide.

4. Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937) was American by birth but moved to Paris to paint. An African-American, his paintings, often of Christian subjects portrayed with profound spirituality (his father was a bishop), brought him international success.