Brushstrokes (Part 2 of 3) - The 19th Century

Summary

This script explores the evolution of art from Realism to Post-Impressionism, focusing on key artists like Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cezanne, Vincent van Gogh, and Paul Gauguin. It highlights their revolutionary techniques, such as Corot's brushwork, Manet's experimentation with color, and Monet's plein air painting. Technological advances, like the invention of the camera and paint tubes, also played a role in shaping these movements. The transition from Impressionism to Post-Impressionism is marked by more emotional expression, abstraction, and the pursuit of scientific analysis in painting.

Takeaways

• 🎨 The Realist movement emerged in the mid-1800s, focusing on unidealized depictions of real life.
• 🖌️ Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot developed a unique brushwork technique to capture the immediacy of nature.
• 🌿 Corot often worked outdoors, adding white to his paints to reflect natural light and true colors.
• 🖼️ Édouard Manet bridged the gap between Realism and Impressionism by experimenting with patches of color and outlining forms.
• 🖍️ Manet was influenced by Japanese art and helped popularize the 'a la prima' painting technique.
• 📸 The invention of the camera and advancements in painting materials allowed artists to paint faster and outdoors, leading to Impressionism.
• 🎨 Claude Monet, a key figure in Impressionism, used short, quick brushstrokes to capture changing light outdoors.
• 🖌️ Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s style was characterized by translucent layers, feathered brushstrokes, and wet-in-wet techniques.
• 🎨 Paul Cézanne simplified forms, using rhythmic, repetitive brushstrokes, influencing both Post-Impressionism and Cubism.
• 🌟 Vincent van Gogh used expressive, directional brushstrokes and bold colors to convey emotions, significantly impacting future art.

Q & A

What was the societal shift in focus after the American and French Revolutions, and how did it affect art?

After the American and French Revolutions, societies began to focus more on the needs and rights of everyday people. This shift influenced artists, leading to the Realist movement, which focused on painting unidealized real-life scenes.

How did Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot contribute to the development of Realism?

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot developed a fresh approach to brushwork to capture what he saw in nature more effectively. He used wispy strokes and a light touch, often sweeping a dry brush across the surface to create a fresh artistic appearance.

Why is Corot sometimes considered the first Impressionist?

Corot is often considered the first Impressionist because of his efforts to capture immediacy, natural light, and true colors in his works, techniques that influenced later Impressionist artists.

How did Edouard Manet’s artistic style differ from Realism and influence Impressionism?

Manet bridged the gap between Realism and Impressionism by experimenting with patches of color, individual strokes, and limited shadowing. His revolutionary style and willingness to experiment influenced many Impressionists, even though he didn’t fully adopt the movement.

What role did Japanese art play in influencing Edouard Manet and other Western artists?

When trade opened with Japan in 1853, Japanese art had a significant influence on Western artists, including Manet. They adopted techniques such as using patches of color rather than gradual gradients, a key aspect of Impressionist brushwork.

What technological innovations helped advance Impressionism?

The development of the camera and transportable paint tubes allowed artists to focus less on realistic depictions and more on creative expression. These innovations enabled Impressionists to work outdoors and finish paintings on location.

How did Claude Monet’s brushwork and use of color reflect his Impressionist style?

Monet developed a system of shorter, quicker brushstrokes to adapt to changing light conditions outdoors. He added white to all his colors to reflect natural light and created paintings with broken, expressive lines and dabs of color.

How did Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s brushwork differ from that of other Impressionists?

Renoir painted with much thinner layers of paint, often using translucent washes of color similar to watercolor. He applied paint wet-in-wet and often slurred colors together with free brushwork, showing distinct bristle lines in his works.

What is Paul Cézanne’s legacy, and how did his work bridge Impressionism and Cubism?

Cézanne’s work is known for its simple forms, flat perspective, and rhythmic brushstrokes. His approach to naturalism and use of repetitive color planes influenced both Impressionism and Cubism, making him a pivotal figure in the transition between the two movements.

How did Georges Seurat’s pointillism technique differ from traditional brushwork?

Georges Seurat developed pointillism, where small dots of pure color were placed next to each other, allowing the viewer’s eye to blend the colors optically. This method was more scientific and impersonal compared to traditional brush techniques.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 The Rise of Realism and Early Impressionism

The mid-1800s saw a shift in focus towards the needs and rights of common people, influencing art movements such as Realism. Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot was a significant figure during this period, known for his innovative brushwork aimed at capturing the immediacy of nature. His light, feathery strokes and use of white in his paints helped him depict the true colors and light in nature, setting the foundation for Impressionism. Edouard Manet, a contemporary of Corot, bridged the gap between Realism and Impressionism. Influenced by Japanese art, Manet experimented with patches of color and brushstrokes, often painting 'a la prima' or in a single layer. Despite his influence on the Impressionists, he was not fully part of the movement due to his continued use of black and refusal to exhibit with the group.

05:02

🌅 The Evolution of Monet and Renoir's Techniques

Monet, one of the most recognized Impressionists, developed his style in the 1870s with short, quick brushstrokes that captured the changing light outdoors. He and Renoir often painted completed works on location, returning to scenes multiple times. Monet's brushwork evolved from expressive dabs to more impasto and eventually to thinner strokes with an emphasis on color patches. Renoir, another key Impressionist, worked with thinner paint and translucent layers, creating a watercolor-like effect. His free, wet-in-wet brushwork allowed for expressive blending, and his technique later incorporated Cezanne's directional brushstrokes, edging toward Post-Impressionism.

10:05

🖌️ Cezanne and the Scientific Approach to Art

Paul Cezanne's unique approach to painting aimed to reflect nature as he felt it, using simplified forms, dark outlines, and incorrect perspectives. His rhythmic, repetitive brushstrokes and careful color choices made each stroke significant. Though often categorized as a Post-Impressionist, Cezanne's adherence to naturalism and his influence on modern art, including his role as a precursor to Cubism, earned him the title 'Father of Modern Art.' The Neo-Impressionists, including Georges Seurat, sought to systematize brushwork, laying down pure color side by side to let the eye mix them, resulting in Seurat's famous 'pointillism.'

🎨 Van Gogh and Gauguin: Expression Over Perception

Vincent van Gogh pushed beyond Impressionism, using expressive, rhythmic brushstrokes and bold colors to convey his emotions rather than merely what he saw. His impasto technique and directional strokes, planned meticulously in sketches, were central to his powerful artistic expression, despite his short ten-year career. Paul Gauguin, another key Post-Impressionist, favored large, flat areas of color and bold outlines, a style known as 'Cloisonnism,' which resembled pre-Renaissance tempera paintings. Gauguin’s work, characterized by flat brushstrokes and simplified forms, set the stage for a century where art would increasingly focus on shape, color, and line.

Keywords

💡Realism

Realism is an art movement that emerged in the mid-1800s, focusing on the accurate, unidealized depiction of real life. In the video, it is mentioned as a precursor to Impressionism, emphasizing how artists like Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot sought to depict nature as they saw it, with fresh brushwork and attention to natural light. Realism was a response to the social changes after the American and French Revolutions, as societies shifted their focus to the needs and rights of everyday people.

💡Impressionism

Impressionism was an art movement that emerged in the late 19th century, characterized by the use of quick, visible brushstrokes and an emphasis on capturing the effects of light and atmosphere. The video highlights Claude Monet as one of the founders of Impressionism, noting his use of dashes of color and shorter brushstrokes to reflect the changing light in nature. The movement was partly driven by technological advancements, such as the development of portable paint tubes, allowing artists to work outdoors.

💡Brushwork

Brushwork refers to the way an artist applies paint to a surface, which can vary in texture, length, and technique. The video details how different artists, like Corot and Monet, developed distinct brushwork styles. For instance, Corot's light, wispy strokes aimed to capture immediacy, while Monet's vigorous dashes of color reflected the fleeting nature of light outdoors. Brushwork is a crucial aspect of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, as it conveys both texture and movement.

💡A la prima

A la prima is a painting technique where the artist applies paint in one sitting, without allowing layers to dry in between. In the video, Edouard Manet is highlighted for popularizing this method, using impasto (thick paint) to capture desired colors in a single effort. This technique allowed for a more immediate and spontaneous representation, aligning with the goals of Impressionist artists who sought to depict the fleeting effects of light and atmosphere.

💡Pointillism

Pointillism is a painting technique developed by Georges Seurat, where small dots of pure color are applied next to each other, allowing the viewer's eye to mix the colors optically. The video explains that Seurat used this method to create a shimmering light effect, applying patches of complementary colors side by side. Pointillism is associated with the Neo-Impressionist movement, which sought a scientific and methodical approach to depicting natural light and atmosphere.

💡Post-Impressionism

Post-Impressionism is an art movement that followed Impressionism, characterized by a focus on emotions and abstracted forms rather than direct observation of nature. The video mentions artists like Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin, who pushed beyond Impressionism by using bold colors and expressive brushstrokes to convey feelings. Post-Impressionists often simplified forms and exaggerated colors, marking a transition toward more abstract and modern art movements.

💡Japanese prints

Japanese prints, particularly Ukiyo-e, had a significant influence on Western art when trade opened with Japan in 1853. The video notes how Manet and other artists were inspired by the bold outlines and flat patches of color seen in these prints, incorporating these elements into their own work. This influence contributed to the development of new approaches to color and form in Western art, particularly in Impressionism and Post-Impressionism.

💡Impasto

Impasto is a technique where paint is applied thickly to the canvas, creating texture and allowing brushstrokes to remain visible. The video discusses how artists like Manet and van Gogh used impasto to enhance the expressive quality of their work. For instance, van Gogh’s heavy application of paint combined with his bold, rhythmic brushstrokes was a way to convey intense emotions and create a tactile, dynamic surface on his canvases.

💡Neo-Impressionism

Neo-Impressionism is a late 19th-century movement that sought to create a more methodical and scientific approach to painting, in contrast to the spontaneity of Impressionism. Artists like Georges Seurat developed techniques like pointillism, placing pure dots of color next to each other to enhance the optical effect of light. The video highlights how Neo-Impressionists aimed for uniformity in their brushwork and strove for impersonal, precise application of color.

💡Claude Monet

Claude Monet is a foundational figure in the Impressionist movement, known for his quick, broken brushstrokes and his focus on capturing the changing effects of light. The video describes how Monet developed his distinctive style by working outdoors, often painting the same scene repeatedly to capture different lighting conditions. His use of dashes of color and addition of white to his paints helped him reflect the natural light and atmosphere that defined his work.

Highlights

The Realist movement focused on unidealized real life, influenced by societal changes following the American and French Revolutions.

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot's innovative brushwork aimed to capture immediacy, with wispy strokes and a light touch to replicate the natural world.

Corot used a dry brush technique to feather across the surface, creating forms with a fresh, artistic appearance.

Edouard Manet bridged the gap between Realism and Impressionism by experimenting with patches of color instead of gradual gradients.

Manet was influenced by Japanese art, incorporating bold, independent brushstrokes and flat figures with little shadowing.

Manet popularized the alla prima technique, applying impasto paint in one layer to capture the desired colors immediately.

Claude Monet developed a system of shorter, quicker brushstrokes due to the time constraints of outdoor painting and changing light.

Monet added white to his colors, similar to Corot, to reflect natural light more effectively.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted with thinner layers of paint and translucent washes, achieving a watercolor-like effect.

Paul Cézanne used repetitive, directional brushstrokes and flat planes of color, simplifying forms and focusing on sensations rather than realism.

Georges Seurat developed pointillism, applying patches of complementary color to create shimmering light and atmosphere through optical mixing.

Post-Impressionists like van Gogh and Gauguin sought emotional expression over realism, simplifying forms and intensifying color.

Vincent van Gogh used bold, rhythmic brushstrokes and complementary colors to convey emotional intensity, rather than just visual representation.

Gauguin's Cloisonnism featured flat areas of color with distinct outlines, influenced by pre-Renaissance techniques and the cloisonné metalwork style.

The development of portable paint tubes and ready-made canvases allowed artists like Monet and Renoir to work directly outdoors, contributing to the rise of Impressionism.

Transcripts

By the mid-1800s, after the American and French  Revolutions, societies began to focus on the  

needs and rights of everyday people. This  change influenced artists as well, bringing  

on the Realist movement which focused on painting  unidealized real life. One of the artists in this  

period, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot developed  a fresh approach to brushwork in order to  

better capture what he saw in nature. His goal was  immediacy, to enable the viewer to experience what  

he experienced in that exact moment. His strokes  were wispy and his touch very light. In fact,  

if you look very closely, you can see that he  sweeps, or feathers, a fairly dry brush across  

the surface giving his forms of fresh artistic  appearance. He also dabbed small highlights of  

paint or used freely painted independent strokes  to enhance the breezy feeling. In order to get  

as close to reality as possible, Corot would  often work outside and add white to all of his  

paints. In that way he could better communicate  the true colors of nature. He also strove to  

capture natural light and, for all these reasons,  Corot is often considered the first Impressionist.  

Edouard Manet was a contemporary of Corot's  and represents a giant leap in a new artistic  

direction He's said to bridge the gap between  Realism and Impressionism. Manet didn't want  

his work to just be a window to the world, he  wanted it to be a piece of art in and of itself,  

and so he was more willing to experiment. Like  many of the artists of his day, Manet was highly  

influenced by Asian art when trade opened with  Japan in 1853. The artistic innovations in these  

prints caused a sensation in Western art. Artists,  and Manet in particular, began to implement into  

their own work some of what they saw, and this  includes the idea of patches of color rather  

than gradual gradients. His brushwork looks a  lot like what we see with the Impressionists:  

strokes that are individual, directional, fairly  short and also repetitive. He sometimes includes  

a harsh outlining of forms and he doesn't  use much shadowing, giving his figures a flat  

appearance. Manet also made popular the idea of  painting a la prima, where the artist lays down,  

in a single layer, impasto paint capturing  the desired colors in a single effort. Manet's  

revolutionary style was inspirational to many  of the Impressionists to come and, in fact,  

he often painted alongside Monet, but he was  never really considered an impressionist due to  

his continued use of black and his unwillingness  to exhibit in the group's exhibitions. In addition  

to societal changes and the influence of Japanese  prints, technology was an integral part of the  

development of Impressionism, One such innovation  was the development of the camera. Because society  

could now record images of scenes and loved ones,  artists were free to veer away from painting  

realistic representations of life. Another  event that was influential was the advancement  

of painting materials. Paint tubes were  developed, meaning artists didn't have to make  

it themselves and the paint was transportable.  And ready-made canvases were now available. These  

two innovations meant that artists could now  take their supplies outside and even complete  

a finished painting on location. But now that they  were trying to paint it in one sitting, time was  

limited so they had to develop a quicker way to  paint, and this is what led to Impressionism.

Claude Monet is probably the most recognizable  name when it comes to the Impressionists and,  

alongside Renoir, is one of its foundational  members. His style was initially influenced  

by the work of Manet, but the abbreviated  strokes of color picked up from Manet became  

small dashes of color in the hands of Monet. By  the 1870s, Monet had fully developed his style.  

He was really the first artist to develop  a system of shorter, quicker brushstrokes,  

and this was due to the time restrictions of the  changing light while painting outside. Like Corot,  

Monet added white to all of his colors in order  to better reflect the light in nature. He and  

Renoir would work finished paintings  on location rather than just studies,  

which was a common practice at the time. They  often had to return to a scene repeatedly in order  

to complete a painting. Monet's brush strokes  were vigorous and generally didn't change in  

size to convey depth. His style went from typical  Impressionism with the broken expressive lines and  

dabs to a very impasto kind of a smeared look to  a much thinner style later in his career, with a  

focus on lines and patches of color that reflect  what is seen in the Post-Impressionist movement.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir was one of the original  Impressionist painters, working alongside Monet as  

they developed what is known as the "Impressionist  style". Renoir painted with much thinner paint  

than his colleagues. His translucent layers were  almost like washes of color seen in watercolor  

painting. And notice the distinct feathering  effect with the strong bristle lines of a hog-hair  

brush. They were applied with painterly strokes,  or he might rub the paint on in order to provide  

a slight layer of color. Renoir preferred to apply  his colors directly to the canvas, wet-in-wet, and  

then he would slur them together with incredibly  free brushwork. He also allowed his colored  

grounds to show through his translucent layers  and spots. In the 1880s, Renoir also painted next  

to Cezanne, and incorporated some of Cezanne's  repetitive directional brushstrokes into his own  

work. And this pushed his style closer to that  of the Post-Impressionists, later in his career.  

Paul Cezanne is an artist that crosses multiple  stylistic categories. His aim was to reflect  

nature according to his sensations. He painted  his forms very simply with dark outlines and  

incorrect perspective. His style was very flat  and very unique, but he's also known for the use  

of repetitive flat planes of color and rhythmic  directional brushstrokes in almost parallel,  

diagonal lines. Cezanne was very particular  about the color of every brush stroke,  

feeling that each stroke was important. Now  Cezanne is often listed as a Post-Impressionist,  

but he really adhered to the naturalistic ideals  of the Impressionists throughout his career.  

It's said that he actually bridges the  gap between Impressionism and Cubism,  

and today he's actually considered the "Father of  Modern Art". In the late 1800s, a group of artists  

began seeking a more orderly way to apply their  brushwork. These artists strove for a unification,  

painting all the strokes relatively the same  size. They wanted brushwork to be impersonal,  

and these orderly, impersonal brushstrokes are  what led to what is known as Neo-Impressionism.  

Neo-Impressionists had an affinity for laying down  pure color next to each other with very little  

mixing, letting the viewers eye optically mix the  colors upon sight. Georges Seurat was the inventor  

of this new method of painting. Seurat was looking  for a scientific methodical way to convey natural  

light and atmosphere, and in the summer of 1885 he  developed his "dot method" of applying paint that  

would eventually be called "pointillism". His  theory is that patches of complementary color  

placed next to each other would enhance each of  the individual colors, and therefore produce a  

kind of shimmering light when seen at a distance.  So, like Leonardo da Vinci, Neo-Impressionists  

used scientific analysis to influence their art.  The Post-Impressionists focused on emotions rather  

than recording what they saw. Their colors were  more simplified, and forms were more harshly  

defined. There was even a hint of abstraction. But  Post-Impressionists were not anti-Impressionists,  

they just wanted to push beyond it. The  primary artists in this movement were Cezanne,  

van Gogh and Gauguin. Vincent van Gogh felt that  Impressionism didn't allow for enough artistic  

expression. He is said to have confessed to a  friend that he intentionally painted with such  

expressive force that viewers would say he had  no technique. Van Gogh was the king of rhythmic,  

directional brushstrokes, combining them with  his bold, complementary color schemes and a  

very heavy impasto paint in order to express his  feelings rather than just what he saw. Notice in  

this sketch that he did for his painting "The  Harvest", he's planned out the direction of  

his various brushstrokes. And now here's the  finished painting. Van Gogh felt that this was  

one of his best paintings, even commenting to  his brother that, "The canvas absolutely kills  

all the rest". And his innovative style had an  important impact on future generations. All of  

this is even more impressive when you consider  that his career only lasted for ten years. Another  

Post-Impressionist who showed great innovation was  Paul Gauguin. Like Manet and Cezanne before him,  

he paints patches of color. But Gauguin takes  the concept a step farther, painting large,  

flat areas of almost single color without much  form and very distinct outlines. His style is  

often referred to as "Cloisonnism" because  of its similarity to cloisonné, an artistic  

form of metalwork. As you can see, like Gauguin,  cloisonné features isolated segments of color and  

highly outlined forms. His application of paint  is very flat and his brushstrokes generic, almost  

indistinguishable. In fact he seems to show a  complete lack of attention to brushwork. His style  

is actually reminiscent of the pre-Renaissance  tempera paintings because of the flatness of the  

appearance, the nondescript brushstrokes as well  as the masses of color. And it's also something  

that we see a lot of in the century to come, when  art tends to focus more on shape, color and line.