Claude Monet, (French, 1840–1926), Houses of Parliament in the Fog, 1903, Oil on canvas , 32 x 36 3/8 inches, Purchase with Great Painting Fund in honor of Sarah Belle Broadnax Hansell, 60.5.
That’s right, Renoir, Monet and Pisarro are heading to Jacksonville as part of the exhibit: Impressionism and Post Impressionism from the High Museum of Art. More than 50 works by renowned artists such as Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Mary Cassatt and John Singer Sargent will be on display at the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens from February 16 through May 6, 2012. The exhibit illustrates the emergence of Impressionism in France during the 1870s, the movement’s evolution to Post-Impressionism, and its later influence on American artists.
Camille Pissarro, (French, 1830–1903), Snowscape with Cows at Montfoucault, 1874, Oil on canvas, 18 3/4 x 20 1/4 inches, Purchase with funds from Helen C. Griffith to honor Robert Sherrill Griffith, Jr. and from Joan N. Whitcomb in memory of Taylor Stuckey, 2007.128.
The exhibit on loan from the High Museum of Art in Atlanta features works by such pre-Impressionist artists as Eugene Boudin to mark the initial transition from the traditional, academic paintings of the French Academy of Fine Arts and the Paris Salon to the loose brushwork and airy landscapes of Monet, Renoir and Pissarro that defined the Impressionist movement.
The term Impressionism was derived from Claude Monet’s painting titled “Impression, Sunrise” which caused a stir when it debuted in 1872. The Impressionism and Post Impressionism from the High Museum of Art exhibit features paintings by Monet, Renoir, Pissarro and Frederic Bazille, all founders of Impressionism. The movement spanned two decades and the exhibit represents works from throughout the period, including paintings by American greats such as Cassatt and Sargent who were influenced by Impressionism, and examples of how the movement evolved into Post-Impressionism as seen in works by Bonnard, Paul Cézanne, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Edouard Vuillard. In addition to a change in technique to more visible strokes, Impressionist artists broke away from traditional rules of subject matter and composition. Impressionism was the mix of all of these elements – candid poses and more natural compositions, brushstrokes that showed immediacy and movement, less use of black, somber colors, and the belief that the viewer’s eye would allow less detailed, unblended colors and shapes tell a story.
Mary Cassatt, (American, 1844 – 1926), Sketch of a Mother Looking Down at Thomas, ca. 1893, Pastel on brown paper, Overall: 27 x 22 1/2 inches (68.6 x 57.2 cm), Gift of Jacqueline and Matt Friedlander, 2005.277.
Be the first to see this exhibition when it opens on February 16th. While you’re here, be sure to check out the exhibition, Beyond Ukiyo-e: Japanese Woodblock Prints and their influence on Western Art on view through August 9. This exhibition shows the influence of the bold designs, unique perspective, compositional arrangements, and simplification of the Japanese woodblock prints, and how the impressionist artists infused their own works with these elements.
