Eyewitness: Impressionism

Rating:
Summary: A short course of the artists and artwork of Impressionism
Review: The invention of photography effectively made painting pictures of reality obsolete. The realistic movement in art no longer mattered when the handcrafted originality of art could be replaced by the mass production of photography. When Paul Cezanne offered the idea that the view contains the viewer and that realism should be revised to include our uncertainty in the perception of things, the result was an emphasis not on painting reality but rather of the effect of perceiving it. Eventually this would lead to the Dada, Abstract and Postmodern art, but first came the Impressionists, which is the topic of this fascinating book in the Eyewitness Art series by Jude Welton.

Essentially Welton provides a short but detailed course in Impressionism. Artists are presented within the context of the developing artistic movement, including: Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, Gustave Caillebotte Alfred Sisley, Camille Pissarro, Mary Cassat, Berthe Morisot, and Edgar Degas. Actually, we encounter all of these artists at various points throughout the book, as the styles of each evolved and Impressionism went through various stages as well. Although this complicates things more than organizing the book artist by artist, you do get a much better sense of what Impressionism meant in all of its diversity. Welton covers key moments in the movement, such as the rebellion against the Salon, the revolution in color, and the inspiration provided by Japanese art. Again, the result is we learn the whys behind the movement. I especially appreciated the attention to detail, where enlargements of key segments of particular paintings are used to explain artistic techniques and stylistic concerns.

When it comes to Impressionism I know that I like Monet and there are several other artists I enjoyed at the Chicago Art Institute. Welton gives me a critical understanding of my aesthetic appreciation. I have no artistic skill beyond drawing, but I can still appreciate the level of comprehension Welton provides me in this book and I will track down her Eyewitness Art book on Monet. The back of this book includes key biographical dates in the history of the key Impressionist artists, which artists participated in the various Impressionist exhibitions between 1874-1886, a list of where the painting reproduced in this book can be viewed on exhibit, and a glossary (which includes a couple of examples of broken color and pointillist technique). Having enjoyed this volume I will be interested in finding out about other artists and art movements from books in this series.

Rating:
Summary: A short course of the artists and artwork of Impressionism
Review: The invention of photography effectively made painting pictures of reality obsolete. The realistic movement in art no longer mattered when the handcrafted originality of art could be replaced by the mass production of photography. When Paul Cezanne offered the idea that the view contains the viewer and that realism should be revised to include our uncertainty in the perception of things, the result was an emphasis not on painting reality but rather of the effect of perceiving it. Eventually this would lead to the Dada, Abstract and Postmodern art, but first came the Impressionists, which is the topic of this fascinating book in the Eyewitness Art series by Jude Welton.

Essentially Welton provides a short but detailed course in Impressionism. Artists are presented within the context of the developing artistic movement, including: Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, Gustave Caillebotte Alfred Sisley, Camille Pissarro, Mary Cassat, Berthe Morisot, and Edgar Degas. Actually, we encounter all of these artists at various points throughout the book, as the styles of each evolved and Impressionism went through various stages as well. Although this complicates things more than organizing the book artist by artist, you do get a much better sense of what Impressionism meant in all of its diversity. Welton covers key moments in the movement, such as the rebellion against the Salon, the revolution in color, and the inspiration provided by Japanese art. Again, the result is we learn the whys behind the movement. I especially appreciated the attention to detail, where enlargements of key segments of particular paintings are used to explain artistic techniques and stylistic concerns.

When it comes to Impressionism I know that I like Monet and there are several other artists I enjoyed at the Chicago Art Institute. Welton gives me a critical understanding of my aesthetic appreciation. I have no artistic skill beyond drawing, but I can still appreciate the level of comprehension Welton provides me in this book and I will track down her Eyewitness Art book on Monet. The back of this book includes key biographical dates in the history of the key Impressionist artists, which artists participated in the various Impressionist exhibitions between 1874-1886, a list of where the painting reproduced in this book can be viewed on exhibit, and a glossary (which includes a couple of examples of broken color and pointillist technique). Having enjoyed this volume I will be interested in finding out about other artists and art movements from books in this series.

Rating:
Summary: An ok book.
Review: This book is mildly interesting and informative, even though it pales in comparison to DK's Eyewitness book about the Renaissance. Perhaps the Impressionist movement wasn't as interesting as the Renaissance for some reason. All I know is that this book isn't nearly as good.