Lesson 4: Interpretations of Reality
The Impressionists applied their new painting methods to all aspects of life. Many of the Impressionists painted cafe scenes, boating holidays, luncheons, festive holidays and portraits, in addition to landscapes. In this lesson, you'll look at some of the reality-based themes explored by the Impressionists.
En Plein Air
The term "en-plein-air" means in the open air--outdoors, in effect. You've already learned about some of the artists who preceded the Impressionists in the tradition of painting outdoors. Important artists in this pre-Impressionist tradition include Courbet, Millet, Corot, and the artists in the Barbizon Group.
These artists were interested in working "en plein air" in order to capture accurate representations of rural life. Many of their paintings focused on capturing reality "unvarnished," rather like cinema verite, in marked contrast to the idealized scenes of peasant life that had characterized landscape paintings in previous eras. Many of these artists, particularly Millet, favored landscape scenes replete with peasants, farmers, and others who lived close to the land. In later years, Van Gogh would follow in the same tradition when he lived with and painted 'potato eaters' in rural Holland.
The Impressionists painted "en-plein-air" for a variety of reasons. As you've already learned, Monet was interested in capturing the effects of light on different subjects. Pissarro and Sisley, however, were closer to their predecessors in their desire to paint rural scenes. However, they differed from their predecessors in that they wanted to capture fleeting impressions of everyday life outdoors.
This painting by Pissarro is a good example of a painting that depicts a moment in time in a rural setting.
Renoir, on the other hand, captured outdoor scenes that were rather more bucolic, even middle class, than his contemporaries. For example, The Swing, shown below, captures a poetic moment in time. The effect borders on the sentimental.
For more information, check out pages 50-51 in Impressionist Art - A Crash Course.
