Painting in impressionism: features, history. Famous impressionist artists. How does Russian impressionism in painting differ from French?


Alexey Zaitsev- one of the brightest representatives impressionism. Works of this contemporary artist well known not only in Russia, but also abroad. The master paints in oils, generously applying strokes, but the paintings turn out light and sunny. Perhaps this is the secret of the charm of his paintings.




Alexey Zaitsev is from Ryazan. His love for painting developed from childhood - Alexei’s own aunt was an honored artist of the union, she was happy to introduce her nephew to the world of art. Perhaps childhood observations of how paintings are born became the starting point for the creative quest of the future artist.







Having decided to connect his life with fine arts, Alexey enters Moscow University and receives an education in the specialty " book chart". He never became a professional illustrator, but the knowledge and skills acquired at the university allowed Alexey Zaitsev to develop his artistic talent.





A distinctive feature in the character of Alexei Zatsev is selfless love for the Motherland. Traveling around Moscow and its suburbs, he enthusiastically observes everyday life ordinary people, often makes sketches in the open air, and then, returning to the studio, finalizes the images. The artist is equally good at urban sketches, natural landscapes, and genre scenes. Everything breathes life, full of colors. The artist skillfully combines working with a palette knife and drawing details with a brush; as a result, the paintings do not lose their sophistication, but acquire a special richness of color.




textured painting by Dmitry Kustanovich, a St. Petersburg artist whose works are also loved all over the world.

Impressionism

is the newspaper of the soul.

Henri Matisse.

Impressionism is a movement in painting that arose and developed in France in the second half of the 19th century - the first quarter of the 20th century. It was art school, which put in the foreground “to convey impressions, but in such a way that it is perceived as something material.” The task of the impressionist artist was to depict his own feelings from objects.

It is well known that the very word “impressionism” in relation to artists was first used by the journalist Louis Leroy, who was inspired by the title of a painting by Claude Monet “ Impression. Sunrise", where the port of Le Havre is depicted in the bluish pre-dawn haze.

The painting is in the Marmottan-Monet Museum in Paris. There are more than three hundred paintings by the Impressionists and Neo-Impressionists, which means that once you visit the museum, you will come away with some understanding of the ideas of Impressionism. And you can continue at the Musée d’Orsay, whose collection is the envy of many.

Impressionist artists transferred onto their canvases only their perception of reality and its various manifestations, and not what they knew: for example, the earth in their paintings could be purple, lilac, blue, pink or orange, but never black or dark brown.

Impressionism, so criticized by its contemporaries, was appreciated fifty years later, and today the Impressionists are considered and appreciated as masterpieces of world painting. We present to your attention the most memorable representatives of impressionism.

Renoir, Pierre Auguste (1841 - 1919).

Art critics say that Renoir’s important achievement was the use of the theory of the impressionists and their technique not only when painting landscapes and still lifes or people in the open air, but also when painting nude models and portraits.

Renoir often turned to the image of a naked female body. He conveyed the play of light and sun on the skin, which seemed alive in his paintings. He wrote nudes female body, with frozen drops of water, pearlescent sparkling skin, pink, tanned, and at the end of life - orange, shimmering in the fire of the sun's rays.

Renoir rejected all theories, saying: “ Theories don't help you write good picture, most often they try to cover up the lack of expressive means».

It is interesting that Renoir's first works were made in a realistic manner. For example, “Diana the Huntress” and “Mother Anthony’s Tavern”.

Renoir was friends with Monet, an impressionist artist, who will be discussed below. This friendship, in fact, led to the fact that Renoir would use the Impressionist technique.

However, art critics and painting historians draw attention to the fact that, following the example of the Impressionists, Renoir refuses dark tones, but from time to time he still makes small inclusions in his paintings. Among the works of this period, first of all, one can name “Pont Neuf”, “Grand Boulevards”, “Pathway among the Tall Grass”.

The artist, suffering from attacks of rheumatism, spent the last years of his life in the south of France in Cagnes-sur-Mer at the Colette estate. Works of this period, from 1903 to 1919. permeated with sensuality, Renoir's canvases are dominated by warm colors- pink red, orange.

The influence of the masters of the past is very noticeable - Rubens Boucher and others. For example, “ Judgment of Paris», « Bather wiping her foot" The best and last job The painting “Bathers”, painted in 1918, is considered. Today his estate, in the shade of an olive and orange grove, is open to visitors. You can look into the living room and dining room, go upstairs to the artist’s bedroom, which preserves the atmosphere of his last days: wheelchair, easel and brushes. On one of the walls in his wife’s room hangs a photograph of Renoir’s son Pierre, and from the window there is an amazing view of Antibes and Hautes Cannes.

Thanks to French cinema, you can immerse yourself in last period the life of Auguste Renoir, meet his son and see the struggle of art with harsh reality. In March, the film by French director Gilles Bourdot “Renoir: Last love" The artist is just finishing “Bathers”.

Cote d'Azur, great artist, his muse... the French are masters of their craft, and the opportunity to actually see with your own eyes a great master at work, and then see the result of his work, is worth a lot. It was this picture that closed the last Cannes Film Festival.

Monet Claude (1840 - 1926).

Claude Monet called the father of impressionism. The future artist was born in Paris, but his childhood and youth were spent in the north of France, in the city of Le Havre. Eugene Boudin had a great influence on Monet, French artist, considered the precursor of impressionism. It was he who taught him to work in the open air (in the lane, in the open air).

Cezanne said: " Monet is just an eye, but what an eye!» It’s hard to argue and not fall in love with the Parisian streets, coastlines and landscapes of Normandy, on Monet’s canvases.

His famous painting"Breakfast on the Grass" was written in 1863. in the village of Chailly-en-Bières, located on the outskirts of the Fontainebleau forest; its central part, damaged by dampness and cut out by the author, is kept in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, and a repetition of the painting in the museum fine arts them. A. S. Pushkin in Moscow.

Autumn 1908 and 1909 the artist spent time in Venice, captivated by the charm of the city, its constantly changing reflection on the water surface of the canal. Here Monet painted Venice: The Doge's Palace and Venice: The Grand Canal. The genius Monet incredibly managed to depict the city as if covered in a light pre-dawn haze.

At sunset creative path Monet created sophisticated paintings inspired by the water lilies in the pond at his home in Giverny.

When the artist moved in 1883 in search of a quiet place in Giverny, it is unlikely that he suspected how much life would change the sleepy village in Normandy. Soon after his arrival, the city, eighty kilometers from Paris, was flooded with young artists from different parts Europe.

Nowadays, artists and art lovers in search of inspiration come to take a walk in the gardens of Giverny and visit the restored house. Therefore, if you fell in love with the beautiful paintings of Monet in the d'Orsay, Marmottan and Orangerie museums, then Giverny will be in first place on your must-see list.

Sisley Alfred (1839 - 1899).

Being an impressionist Sisley He paid particular attention to conveying nuances and sensations. He loved to paint the water surface, sky, fog, snow. “The painting needs to evoke in the viewer the same feelings that overwhelmed the artist when he looked at this landscape,” said Sisley.

Notice how light, almost weightless the houses seem, water surface with light ripples, pastel sky and tree foliage. His paintings, written with thin, airy strokes, set the mood for a poetic, romantic mood.

A significant collection of the artist’s paintings is in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. Don't ignore it when you're in the capital of France. You'll enjoy not only Sisley's work, but also paintings by other Impressionist artists on display at this museum on the banks of the Seine.

Pissarro Camille (1830 - 1903).

Art critics write that if Claude Monet and Sisley most loved to imagine water and changing reflections on its surface in their paintings, then Pissaro gave preference to the land. His art is free from fleeting impressions - everything about it is more thorough. Notice how often scenes from rural life are in his paintings. The artist used the color scheme in such a way that when studying his canvases, it seems as if they are filled with light from within. Pissarro loved to paint orchards and fields, amazingly conveying the changes of nature.

Pissarro knew Monet, with whom they loved to paint together in the vicinity of Paris. “Gare Saint-Lazare”, “Pavilion of Flore and Pont Royal”, “Place de Comedie-Française”, “View of the Louvre, Seine and Pont Neuf” were written here.

Cezanne called him “modest and great”, quite deservedly, what do you think?

Seurat Georges (1859 - 1891).

One of characteristic features Seurat had a desire to bring a fresh spirit to impressionism.

His work - both drawings and paintings- based on the theory of contrasts. Most famous painting, certainly familiar to you, is the masterpiece "Sunday Walk on the Island of La La Grande Jatte", stored in the Chicago art institute. This painting became an expression of new trends in art, an expression of the ideas of neo-impressionism. A feeling of complete peace was achieved by combining cold and warm tones, light and shadow.

“Cancan,” a no less famous painting by the artist, on the contrary, conveys a feeling of joy and movement, using warm shades and bright colors.

I would like to end with the words of Claude Monet “ People discuss my art and pretend to understand as if it were necessary to understand, when it"s simply necessary to love ». ( People discuss my paintings, trying to understand. Why do you need to understand if you can just love??)

Just a year ago, the phrase “Russian impressionism” grated on the ears of the average citizen of our country. vast country. Every educated person knows about light, bright and swift french impressionism, can distinguish Monet from Manet and recognize Van Gogh's sunflowers from all still lifes. Someone heard something about the American branch of the development of this direction of painting - more urban landscapes of Hassam and portrait images of Chase compared to the French ones. But researchers still argue about the existence of Russian impressionism.

Konstantin Korovin

The history of Russian impressionism began with the painting “Portrait of a Chorus Girl” by Konstantin Korovin, as well as with misunderstanding and condemnation of the public. Seeing this work for the first time, I. E. Repin did not immediately believe that the work was executed by a Russian painter: “Spaniard! It's obvious. He writes boldly and juicily. Wonderful. But this is just painting for painting's sake. A Spaniard, however, with a temperament...” Konstantin Alekseevich himself began to paint his canvases in an impressionistic manner back in student years, being unfamiliar with the paintings of Cezanne, Monet and Renoir, long before his trip to France. Only thanks to the experienced eye of Polenov, Korovin learned that he was using the French technique of that time, which he came to intuitively. At the same time, the Russian artist is given away by the subjects that he uses for his paintings - the recognized masterpiece “Northern Idyll”, painted in 1892 and stored in Tretyakov Gallery, demonstrates to us Korovin’s love for Russian traditions and folklore. This love was instilled in the artist by the “Mamontov circle” - a community of creative intelligentsia, which included Repin, Polenov, Vasnetsov, Vrubel and many other friends famous philanthropist Savva Mamontov. In Abramtsevo, where Mamontov’s estate was located and where members of the artistic circle gathered, Korovin was lucky enough to meet and work with Valentin Serov. Thanks to this acquaintance, the work of the already accomplished artist Serov acquired the features of light, bright and swift impressionism, which we see in one of his early works – « Open window. Lilac".

Portrait of a chorus girl, 1883
Northern idyll, 1886
Bird cherry, 1912
Gurzuf 2, 1915
Pier in Gurzuf, 1914
Paris, 1933

Valentin Serov

Serov’s painting is permeated with a feature inherent only in Russian impressionism - his paintings reflect not only the impression of what the artist saw, but also the state of his soul in at the moment. For example, in the painting “St. Mark’s Square in Venice,” painted in Italy, where Serov went to in 1887 due to a serious illness, cold gray tones predominate, which gives us an idea of ​​the artist’s condition. But, despite the rather gloomy palette, the painting is a standard impressionistic work, since Serov managed to capture real world in its mobility and variability, to convey your fleeting impressions. In a letter to his bride from Venice, Serov wrote: “In this century They write everything that is hard, nothing joyful. I want, I want gratifying things, and I will write only gratifying things.”

Open window. Lilac, 1886
St. Mark's Square in Venice, 1887
Girl with peaches (Portrait of V. S. Mamontova)
Coronation. Confirmation of Nicholas II in the Assumption Cathedral, 1896
Girl illuminated by the sun, 1888
Bathing a horse, 1905

Alexander Gerasimov

One of the students of Korovin and Serov, who adopted their expressive brushwork, bright palette and sketch style of painting, was Alexander Mikhailovich Gerasimov. The artist’s creativity flourished during the revolution, which could not help but be reflected in the subjects of his paintings. Despite the fact that Gerasimov gave his brush to the service of the party and became famous thanks to his outstanding portraits of Lenin and Stalin, he continued to work on impressionistic landscapes that were close to his soul. Alexander Mikhailovich’s work “After the Rain” reveals to us the artist as a master of conveying air and light in a painting, which Gerasimov owes to the influence of his eminent mentors.

Artists at Stalin's dacha, 1951
Stalin and Voroshilov in the Kremlin, 1950s
After the rain. Wet terrace, 1935
Still life. Field bouquet, 1952

Igor Grabar

In a conversation about late Russian impressionism, one cannot help but turn to the work of the great artist Igor Emmanuilovich Grabar, who adopted many of the techniques of French painters of the second half of the 19th century century thanks to his numerous trips to Europe. Using the techniques of classical impressionists, in his paintings Grabar depicts absolutely Russian landscape motifs and everyday stories. While Monet paints the blooming gardens of Giverny, and Degas paints beautiful ballerinas, Grabar depicts the harsh Russian winter with the same pastel colors and village life. Most of all, Grabar loved to depict frost on his canvases and dedicated an entire collection of works to him, consisting of more than a hundred small multi-colored sketches created in different times days and in different weather conditions. The difficulty of working on such drawings was that the paint froze in the cold, so we had to work quickly. But this is precisely what allowed the artist to recreate “that very moment” and convey his impression of it, which is the main idea of ​​classical impressionism. Igor Emmanuilovich’s painting style is often called scientific impressionism, because it gave great value light and air on canvases and created a lot of research on color transmission. Moreover, it is to him that we owe the chronological arrangement of paintings in the Tretyakov Gallery, of which he was director in 1920-1925.

Birch Alley, 1940
Winter landscape, 1954
Frost, 1905
Pears on a blue tablecloth, 1915
Corner of the estate (Ray of the Sun), 1901

Yuri Pimenov

Completely non-classical, but still impressionism developed in Soviet era, a prominent representative of which is Yuri Ivanovich Pimenov, who came to depict “a fleeting impression in bed colors” after working in the style of expressionism. One of the most famous works Pimenov becomes the painting “New Moscow” of the 1930s - light, warm, as if painted with the airy strokes of Renoir. But at the same time, the plot of this work is completely incompatible with one of the main ideas of impressionism - refusal to use social and political themes. Pimenov’s “New Moscow” perfectly reflects social change in the life of the city, which have always inspired the artist. “Pimenov loves Moscow, its new, its people. The painter generously gives this feeling to the viewer,” writes artist and researcher Igor Dolgopolov in 1973. And indeed, looking at the paintings of Yuri Ivanovich, we are imbued with love for Soviet life, new neighborhoods, lyrical housewarmings and urbanism, captured in the technique of impressionism.

Pimenov’s creativity once again proves that everything “Russian” brought from other countries has its own special and unique path of development. So is French impressionism in Russian Empire and the Soviet Union absorbed the features of the Russian worldview, national character and everyday life. Impressionism as a way of conveying only the perception of reality in pure form remained alien to Russian art, because every painting by Russian artists is filled with meaning, awareness, the state of the changeable Russian soul, and not just a fleeting impression. Therefore, next weekend, when the Museum of Russian Impressionism re-presents the main exhibition to Muscovites and guests of the capital, everyone will find something for themselves among Serov’s sensual portraits, Pimenov’s urbanism and landscapes atypical for Kustodiev.

New Moscow
Lyrical housewarming, 1965
Costume room Bolshoi Theater, 1972
Early morning in Moscow, 1961
Paris. Rue Saint-Dominique. 1958
Stewardess, 1964

Perhaps for most people the names Korovin, Serov, Gerasimov and Pimenov are still not associated with a specific style of art, but the Museum of Russian Impressionism, which opened in May 2016 in Moscow, nevertheless collected the works of these artists under one roof.

Impressionism is a movement mainly in French painting, characterized by the desire to convey fleeting impressions, richness of colors, psychological nuances, mobility and variability of the atmosphere of the surrounding world through the means of art.

Bold strokes, bright colors, everyday life scenes, candid poses and, most importantly, an accurate description of the light... Only a small fraction of the characteristics of one of the most popular artistic directions. in France in mid-19th century. Before its emergence, authors usually created still lifes, portraits and even landscapes in their studios.

For the first time in the history of art, artists made it a rule for themselves to paint not from the studio, but under open air: on the river bank, in a field, in a forest. Trying to express their direct impressions of things as accurately as possible, the impressionists created new method painting.

PARKETERS, GUSTAVE CAIBOTT

One of the first paintings depicting the urban working class. Caillebotte illustrates the abiding interest in everyday life. Notice how accurately the artist captured the light coming through the window and the shadows. The painting is as realistic as a photograph, but nevertheless was rejected by the most prestigious art exhibitions and salons: depictions of half-naked working-class men were considered "vulgar subject matter".

Impressionism is often considered precisely as a movement in painting that originated in the 19th century in France. Impressionism brought a double revolution, which is simultaneously reflected in the vision of the world and painting technique. He shows the painting as moving, ephemeral, elusive, focusing on the passing moment in the present tense. In addition, impressionism is characterized by light, touch, and color vibration.

Prominent representatives modern impressionism in painting many, but in this publication we will focus on four artists - Andre Kohn (Russia), Laurent Parcelier (France), Diane Leonard and Karen Tarlton (USA)- each of which owns unique technology in painting.

Andre Kohn- comes from Volgograd, Russian Federation. From the age of 15 he began to seriously study painting under the guidance of Natalia Gavrichenko and Anatoly Vrubel. Since the artist deserved high praise in oil painting from his Western colleagues, he migrated to America. Currently lives with his family in Phoenix. The artist’s paintings are in corporate, museum and private collections in Europe, Canada, USA, Japan, Australia and Russia.

Andre Cohn is a recognized leader in the field of modern impressionism. With a mature and fresh imaginative style, he always creates the extraordinary out of the ordinary. The artist's objects are interpreted through the poetry of movement. In the American arena, the impressionist Andre Kohn is considered one of the most interesting figures.

Modern French impressionism in painting Laurent Parcelier

Laurent Parcelier- maestro of watercolor, modern French impressionist. Characteristic of Porcellier's work is the clean and bright manner of conveying the places where the artist himself visited. the artist shines with light, brightness, impression. The author's strokes and tones are unique to him alone.

Contemporary American impressionism in painting Diane Leonard

Diana Leonard is one of those artists who gained instant popularity. She began creating at the age of 20 and almost immediately her talent was appreciated by experts in the field modern painting. Diane Leonard- an honored impressionist artist in his homeland, and also a part-time writer. The artist’s canvases will speak for themselves. Enjoy watching!

Contemporary impressionist artist Karen Tarlton

Karen Tarlton in one of her personal interviews she spoke about herself as a universal artist working in the genre of impressionism. In her own words, strong point The artist is plein air painting. The tool in creating author’s colorful paintings is, and with it the rich color palette. In her paintings, Karen Tarlton tries with all her might to inspire and delight the viewer with a combination of light, color and texture.

Karen is a current expert in impressionist palette knife painting. He often paints landscapes and portraits. Currently lives and works in Manhattan Beach, California.