Alexey Zaitsev- one of the prominent representatives impressionism. Works of this contemporary artist are well known not only in Russia but also abroad. The master paints in oils, generously applying strokes, but the paintings are light and sunny. Perhaps this is the secret of the charm of his paintings.
Alexey Zaitsev is from Ryazan. He developed a love for painting 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 children's observations of how paintings are born became the starting point for creative pursuits future artist.
Deciding to connect his life with the fine arts, Alex enters Moscow University and receives an education in the specialty " book chart". He never became a professional illustrator, but the knowledge and skills gained at the university allowed Alexei 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 watches with rapture 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 both urban sketches and natural landscapes, and genre scenes. Everything breathes life, full of colors. The artist masterfully combines work with a palette knife and drawing details with a brush, as a result, the paintings do not lose their sophistication, but acquire a special saturation of colors.
texture painting by Dmitry Kustanovich, a St. Petersburg artist whose work is also loved all over the world.
Impressionism was first born in France towards the end 19th century. Before the advent of this trend, still lifes, portraits and even landscapes were mostly painted by artists in studios. Impressionist paintings were often created on outdoors, and their plots were real fleeting scenes from modern life. And although impressionism was initially criticized, it soon gathered a large following and laid the foundation for similar movements in music and literature.
Famous French Impressionist painters
It is not surprising that one of the most famous destinations It was impressionism in painting that became the fine arts: the artists who worked in this style left behind canvases of amazing beauty, light, like a breath of fresh air, full of light and colors. Many of these beautiful works written by the following masters of impressionism, which every self-respecting connoisseur of world painting knows.
Edouard Manet
Despite the fact that the entire work of Edouard Manet cannot be placed only within the framework of impressionism, the painter largely influenced the emergence of this trend, and other French artists working in this style considered him the founder of impressionism and their ideological inspirer. good friends masters were other well-known french impressionists: Edgar Degas, Pierre Auguste Renoir, as well as an impressionist painter with a similar surname that baffles beginners in the world of painting - Claude Monet.
After meeting these artists, impressionistic changes took place in Manet's work: he began to prefer working outdoors, light, bright colors, an abundance of light and fractional composition began to predominate in the paintings. Although from dark colors he still does not refuse, and he prefers painting to landscapes in domestic genre- this can be traced in the painter's works "Bar at the Folies Bergère", "Music at the Tuileries", "Breakfast on the Grass", "Papa Lathuille's", "Argenteuil" and others.
Claude Monet
The name of this French artist, perhaps, at least once in his life everyone heard. Claude Monet was one of the founders of Impressionism, and it was his painting “Impression: Rising Sun gave its name to this movement.
In the 60s years XIX century, the impressionist artist was one of the first to become interested in painting on fresh air, and many later created a new experimental approach to work. It consisted in observing and depicting the same object in different time days: this is how a whole series of canvases was created with a view of the facade of the Rouen Cathedral, opposite which the artist even settled in order not to lose sight of the building.
As you study Impressionism in painting, don't miss Monet's Field of Poppies at Argenteuil, Walk to the Cliff at Pourville, Women in the Garden, Lady with Umbrella, Boulevard des Capucines, and the Water lilies."
Pierre Auguste Renoir
This impressionist painter had a unique vision of beauty that made Renoir one of the most well-known representatives this direction. First of all, he is famous for his paintings of noisy Parisian life and leisure at the end of the 19th century. Renoir perfectly knew how to work with color and chiaroscuro, in particular, his exceptional ability to paint nudes, with a unique transmission of tones and textures, is noted.
Already from the 80s, the Impressionist artist began to lean more towards the classical style of painting and became interested in Renaissance painting, which forced him to include sharper lines and a clear composition in his mature works. It was during this period that Pierre-Auguste Renoir created some of the most imperishable works of his era.
Pay special attention to such paintings by Renoir as "Breakfast of the Rowers", "Ball at the Moulin de la Galette", "Dance in the Village", "Umbrellas", "Dance at Bougival", "Girls at the Piano".
Edgar Degas
In the history of art, Edgar Degas remained as an impressionist artist, although he himself denied this label, preferring to call himself rather an independent artist. Indeed, he had a certain interest in realism, which distinguished the artist from other impressionists, but at the same time he used many impressionist techniques in his work, in particular, he “played” with light in the same way and was fond of depicting scenes from urban life.
Degas was always attracted by the human figure, he often depicted singers, dancers, laundresses, trying to portray human body in various positions, for example, on canvases " Dance class”, “Rehearsal”, “Concert at the Ambassador Cafe”, “Opera Orchestra”, “Dancers in Blue”.
Camille Pissarro
Pissarro was the only artist who participated in all eight Impressionist exhibitions from 1874 to 1886. While Impressionist paintings are known for their urban and countryside scenes, Pissarro's paintings show the viewer daily life French peasants, depicting rural nature V various conditions and under different lighting conditions.
Getting acquainted with the paintings that this impressionist artist painted, first of all it is worth seeing the works “Boulevard Montmartre at night”, “Harvest in Eragny”, “Reapers rest”, “Garden in Pontoise” and “Entrance to the village of Voisin”.
The phrase "Russian Impressionism" only a year ago cut the ear of the average citizen of our vast country. Every educated person knows about light, light 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 compared to the French landscapes of Hassam and portraits of Chase. But researchers argue about the existence of Russian impressionism to this day.
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. When I first saw this work, I. E. Repin did not immediately believe that the work was done by a Russian painter: “Spaniard! I see. Boldly, juicy writes. Wonderful. But it's just painting for painting's sake. Spaniard, however, with 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 Polenov's experienced eye did Korovin learn that he was using the technique of the French of that time, which he came to intuitively. At the same time, the Russian artist is given the subjects that he uses for his paintings - the recognized masterpiece "Northern Idyll", written in 1892 and stored in Tretyakov Gallery, shows us Korovin's love for Russian traditions and folklore. This love was instilled in the artist by the "mammoth circle" - the community 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 art circle gathered, Korovin was fortunate 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 impetuous impressionism, which we see in one of his works. 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 this 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, which gives us an idea of the state of the artist. But, despite the rather gloomy palette, the picture is a reference impressionistic work, since Serov managed to capture on it real world in its mobility and variability, to convey their fleeting impressions. In a letter to his bride from Venice, Serov wrote: “In this century they write everything heavy, nothing encouraging. I want, I want what is gratifying, and I will write only what is gratifying.”
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 brushstroke, bright palette and etude style of writing, was Alexander Mikhailovich Gerasimov. The heyday of the artist's work came at the time of the revolution, which could not but be reflected in the plots of his paintings. Despite the fact that Gerasimov gave his brush to the service of the party and became famous for his outstanding portraits of Lenin and Stalin, he continued to work on impressionistic landscapes that were close to his soul. The work of Alexander Mikhailovich “After the Rain” reveals to us the artist as a master of conveying air and light in the picture, 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 but turn to the work of the great artist Igor Emmanuilovich Grabar, who adopted many techniques French painters second half of XIX century thanks to his numerous trips to Europe. Using the techniques of classical impressionists, in his paintings Grabar depicts absolutely Russian landscape motifs and household plots. While Monet paints the flowering 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 liked to depict frost on his canvases and dedicated a whole collection of works to him, consisting of more than a hundred small multi-colored sketches created at different times of the day and in different weather. The difficulty of working on such drawings was that the paint hardened in the cold, so I 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. Often the painting style of Igor Emmanuilovich is called scientific impressionism, because he gave great importance light and air on the canvases and created many studies on the transfer of color. Moreover, it is to him that we owe chronological arrangement paintings in the Tretyakov Gallery, of which he was director in 1920-1925.
Birch alley, 1940
Winter landscape, 1954
Hoarfrost, 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 time, prominent representative which becomes Yuri Ivanovich Pimenov, who came to the image of "a fleeting impression in pastel 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 Renoir's airy strokes. But at the same time, the plot of this work is completely incompatible with one of the main ideas of impressionism - the rejection of the use of social and political themes. "New Moscow" by Pimenov just 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,” wrote 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 housewarming and urbanism, captured in the technique of impressionism.
Pimenov's work proves once again that everything "Russian", brought from other countries, has its own special and unique path of development. Likewise, French Impressionism Russian Empire and the Soviet Union absorbed the features of the Russian worldview, national character and life. Impressionism as a way of conveying only the perception of reality in pure form remained a stranger to Russian art, because each picture of 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 will re-present the main exposition to Muscovites and guests of the capital, everyone will find something for themselves among the sensual portraits of Serov, Pimenov's urbanism and landscapes atypical for Kustodiev.
New Moscow
Lyrical housewarming, 1965
Wardrobe Bolshoi Theater, 1972
Early morning in Moscow, 1961
Paris. Rue Saint-Dominique. 1958
Stewardess, 1964
Perhaps, for most people, the names of Korovin, Serov, Gerasimov and Pimenov are still not associated with a certain 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 the newspaper of the soul.
Henry Matisse.
Impressionism is a direction 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 prompted by this title of the painting by Claude Monet " Impression. Sunrise”, which depicts the port of Le Havre in a bluish predawn haze.
The painting is in the Musée Marmottan-Monet in Paris. There are more than three hundred paintings of the Impressionists and Neo-Impressionists here, which means that by visiting the museum, you will already come out with some understanding of the ideas of Impressionism. And you can continue at the Musée d'Orsay, whose collections many can envy.
Impressionist artists transferred to canvases only their perception of reality and its various manifestations, not what they knew: for example, the earth in their paintings may be purple, lilac, blue, pink or orange, but never black or dark brown.
Impressionism, so criticized by contemporaries, was appreciated fifty years later, and today the Impressionists are regarded and appreciated as masterpieces of world painting. We present to your attention the most memorable representatives of impressionism.
Renoir, Pierre Auguste (1841 - 1919).
Art historians say that important achievement Renoir is to use the theory of the Impressionists and their technique not only when he painted landscapes and still lifes or people in the open air, but also when painting nude models and portraits.
Renoir often referred 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 painted nude female body, with frozen drops of water, mother-of-pearl sparkling skin, pink, tanned, and at the end of life - orange, iridescent in the fire of sunlight.
Renoir rejected all theories, saying: " Theories don't help write good picture, most often they try to cover up the lack of expressive means».
Interestingly, the first works of Renoir are made in a realistic manner. For example, "Diana the Hunter" and "Mother Anthony's Tavern".
Renoir was friends with Monet, an impressionist painter, which will be discussed below. This friendship, in fact, led to the fact that Renoir will use the technique of the Impressionists.
Nevertheless, art critics and painting historians pay attention to the fact that if, 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, in the first place, one can name Pont Neuf, Grand Boulevards, Path among tall grass.
The artist, suffering from bouts 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. imbued with sensuality, warm tones predominate on Renoir's canvases - 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 leg". the best and latest work considered the painting "Bathers", written in 1918. 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. A photograph of Renoir's son Pierre hangs on one of the walls in his wife's room, and an amazing view of Antibes and Upper Cannes opens from the window.
Thanks to French cinema, you can immerse yourself in last period the life of Auguste Renoir, get to know his son and see the struggle of art with harsh reality. In March, the film by French director Gilles Bourdo "Renoir: last love". The artist is just finishing The Bathers.
azure coast, great artist, his muse ... the French are masters of their craft, and the opportunity to actually see the great master at work with his own eyes, 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. 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 forerunner 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 only an eye, but what an eye!» It's hard to argue and not fall in love with the Parisian streets, coasts and landscapes of Normandy, on Monet's canvases.
His famous painting Luncheon on the Grass was written in 1863. in the village of Chailly-en-Bières, located on the outskirts of the forest of Fontainebleau; its central part, affected by dampness and carved by the author, is stored 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 in Venice, captivated by the charm of the city, its ever-changing reflection on the water surface of the canal. Here Monet painted the paintings "Venice: Doge's Palace" and "Venice: Grand Canal". The genius of Monet incredibly managed to portray the city, as if covered in a light predawn haze.
At the sunset of your creative way Monet created exquisite paintings inspired by water lilies in the pond of his house in Giverny.
When the artist moved in 1883 in search of a quiet and peaceful place in Giverny, he hardly suspected how much life would change the life of a sleepy village in Normandy. Soon after his arrival, the city, eighty kilometers from Paris, in search of the Master was flooded by young artists from different parts Europe.
Today, artists and art lovers in search of inspiration come to take a walk in the gardens of Giverny, to 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 not be in the first place on your must se list.
Sisley Alfred (1839 - 1899).
Being an Impressionist Sisley especially much attention paid to the transfer of nuances and sensations. He was very fond of painting the water surface, the sky, fog, snow. “It is necessary that the picture evokes in the viewer the same feelings that overwhelmed the artist when he looked at this landscape,” said Sisley.
Pay attention to how light, almost weightless the houses seem, the water surface with light ripples, the pastel sky and the foliage of the trees. His paintings, painted with thin, airy strokes, set in a poetic, romantic mood.
A significant collection of paintings by the artist is in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. Do not leave it unattended when you are in the capital of France. You will enjoy not only Sisley's work, but also the paintings of other Impressionist artists exhibited in this museum on the banks of the Seine.
Pissarro Camille (1830 - 1903).
Art historians write that if Claude Monet and Sisley loved to imagine water and changing reflections on its surface in their paintings, then Pissarro preferred land. His art is free from fleeting impressions - everything in it is more fundamental. Notice how often in his paintings scenes from rural life. The artist used color scheme that when studying his canvases, it seems as if they are filled with light from within. Pissarro loved to paint orchards, fields, surprisingly conveying the changes in nature.
Pissarro was familiar with Monet, with whom they loved to write together in the vicinity of Paris. Here were written "Gare Saint-Lazare", "Pavilion of Flore and Pont-Royal", "Place Comédie-Française", "View of the Louvre, Seine and Pont Neuf".
Cezanne called him "modest and great", well deserved, what do you think?
Seurat Georges (1859 - 1891).
One of characteristic features Seurat had a desire to bring a fresh stream to Impressionism.
His work is both drawings and paintings- based on the theory of contrasts. Most famous picture, certainly familiar to you, this masterpiece "Sunday walk on the island of Grande Jatte", stored in the Chicago art institute. This picture has become an expression of new trends in art, an expression of the ideas of neo-impressionism. The 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, movement, with the help of 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 have to understand when you can just love?)
It is believed that art has no boundaries. Nevertheless, people have decided to divide the works of artists into genres, in which one can get confused quite easily, because the boundaries of styles are arbitrary. Today we will talk about one of the main trends in painting - impressionism.
Emergence of Impressionism
Impressionism as a genre of art originated in France in the 1870s. The origin of this style was the creation of the painting by C. Monet "Impression. Sunrise" (1872). One journalist called the artist an impressionist, but with a negative connotation. But soon it was forgotten, and the picture gave rise to a new genre.
in 1874, the Impressionist painters held their first stand-alone exhibition. The paintings exhibited on it have been criticized for their lack of meaning, looseness and poor rendering. However, the artists did not stop and continued to organize such events, declaring their art.
Impressionism was a purely French phenomenon. Artists from other countries were able to adopt some features, but not to the full extent.
It was the Impressionists who were the first to move away from generally accepted standards and patterns. academic writing thus giving a huge impetus to the development art. They were deeply involved in researching colors and new writing techniques, which ultimately led us to today's diversity.
It should be noted that impressionism had a serious impact and inspired representatives of other areas of art with its novelty: sculpture, music and literature.
What are impressionist paintings about?
Impressionism focuses on the image and the impression it gives to the viewer. Impressionist paintings most often depict ordinary scenes from life: the bustle of the city or landscapes. Their works give viewers those fleeting impressions experienced by the painters themselves. Impressionism does not notice problems or negativity, it only shows positive sides life.
Mostly in the paintings you can see scenes such as picnics, boating, dancing, tea drinking, outdoor fun and other joys of life. The people in the paintings were not frozen, but moving, playing, laughing, most often depicted by the Impressionists. Pictures allow us to plunge into the living reality of past centuries, to see what kind of environment surrounded people XIX century.
Features of Impressionist paintings
The talent of reflecting on the canvas of an instant first impression is main feature all artists. They always created from nature, without any sketches, capturing and transmitting general mood. Impressionist paintings do not carry deep meaning or hidden content, they depict everyday life, but they do it not simply, but masterfully. When looking at such paintings, the viewer immediately has a certain thought or emotion, which remains for some time after viewing.
A special style of writing was developed by the Impressionists. The pictures painted by them are most often distinguished by fuzzy lines and separate strokes. The fact is that they conveyed all colors. standard set paints, skillfully putting strokes. great attention in their works they paid attention to the play of light and shadows, trying to create a contrast. Indicative in this respect is the painting by O. Renoir "Ball at the Moulin de la Galette" (1876).
Great Impressionists of the Past
Since the inception of the movement, there have been many artists who worked in the style of impressionism, but very few can be called truly great. So, the most famous impressionist artists are C. Monet, O. Renoir, A. Sisley and C. Pissarro. In general, impressionism as a trend was especially popular in late XIX centuries, it was then that true masters created.
This was the beginning, the inspiration for other equally famous artists - V. van Gogh, P. Cezanne, P. Gauguin. These artists became the founders of post-impressionism, which made it its goal to reject the image real life, moving to the image of its basics.
Modern Impressionists
Do not think that the direction ceased to exist after its heyday. Until now, there are artists who choose impressionism for their work.
Paintings modern impressionists cause no less admiration than the paintings of the past. To date, many masters create in this genre, but time will tell which of them is most worthy of this title. Nevertheless, there are several artists whose canvases are positioned as Impressionist paintings. Photos of their work are presented below.
Take, for example, an artist named Kent R. Wallis. His canvases are distinguished by bright, saturated colors, with the help of which he creates magnificent landscapes.
Also fascinating are the paintings of the artist I.J. Paproski (E.J. Paprocki).
In his canvases, flowers, leaves and other small elements are done very realistically, while the rest of the background is done with strokes. This allows him to convey the beauty of details and at the same time common first impressions characteristic of impressionism.
