Origins of Impressionism

Origins of Impressionism

Tinterow, Gary, and Henri Loyrette
1994
496 pages
645 illustrations
9 x 12 in
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This handsome publication, which accompanies a major exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is a lively and engaging account of the artistic scene in Paris in the 1860s, the years that witnessed the beginnings of Impressionism. For the first time the interactions and relationships among the group of painters who became known as the Impressionists are examined without the over-worn art historical polarities commonly evoked: academic versus avant-garde, classicist versus romantic, realist versus impressionist. A host of strong personalities contributed to this history, and their style evolved into a new way of looking at the world. These artists wanted above all to give an impression of truth and to have an impact on or even to shock the public. And they wanted to measure up to or surpass their elders. This complex and rich environment is presented here—the grand old men and the young turks encounter each other, the Salon pontificates, and the new generation moves fitfully ahead, benignly but always with determination.

Origins of Impressionism gives a day-by-day, year-by-year study of the genesis of an epoch-making style. Nine essays review the Parisian art world before Impressionism ("The Salon of 1859") and the traditional genres both as they were known and as they would be transformed by the New Painting ("History Painting," "Realist Landscape," "The Nude," "Figures in Landscape," "Still Life," "Portraits and Figures," "Impressionist Landscape," and "Modern Life"). Each is illustrated with an abundance of works by the new artists as well as by those who made up the rest of the artistic milieu. The breadth and depth of the art world become evident and our understanding is further expanded by a wealth of contemporaneous comments and criticism. The relations between artists—Manet and Degas, Cézanne and Pissarro, Monet and Bazille, among others—are made clear, and their implications are explored. Insightful commentary brings new dimensions to Monet, Fantin-Latour, and Renoir. Throughout, the history of this period is greatly augmented and much sharpened.

Bibliographies and provenances are provided for each of the almost two hundred works in the exhibition, and there is an illustrated chronology. With more than two hundred superb color-plates, this informative survey is an essential work for both the general reader and the scholar.

Salome, Henri Regnault  French, Oil on canvas
Henri Regnault
1870
The Dead Christ with Angels, Edouard Manet  French, Oil on canvas
Edouard Manet
1864
The Edge of the Woods at Monts-Girard, Fontainebleau Forest, Théodore Rousseau  French, Oil on wood
Théodore Rousseau
1852–54
Honfleur, Johan Barthold Jongkind  Dutch, Oil on canvas
Johan Barthold Jongkind
1865
Regatta at Sainte-Adresse, Claude Monet  French, Oil on canvas
Claude Monet
1867
The Bodmer Oak, Fontainebleau Forest, Claude Monet  French, Oil on canvas
Claude Monet
1865
The Hamlet of Optevoz, Charles-François Daubigny  French, Oil on canvas
Charles-François Daubigny
ca. 1852
Porte de la Reine at Aigues-Mortes, Jean-Frédéric Bazille  French, Oil on canvas
Jean-Frédéric Bazille
1867
Jalais Hill, Pontoise, Camille Pissarro  French, Oil on canvas
Camille Pissarro
1867
The Birth of Venus, Alexandre Cabanel  French, Oil on canvas
Alexandre Cabanel
1875
Woman with a Parrot, Gustave Courbet  French, Oil on canvas
Gustave Courbet
1866
Fishing, Edouard Manet  French, Oil on canvas
Edouard Manet
ca. 1862–63
Young Ladies of the Village, Gustave Courbet  French, Oil on canvas
Gustave Courbet
1851–52
Peonies, Edouard Manet  French, Oil on canvas
Edouard Manet
1864–65
The Brioche, Edouard Manet  French, Oil on canvas
Edouard Manet
1870
Still Life with Flowers and Fruit, Henri Fantin-Latour  French, Oil on canvas
Henri Fantin-Latour
1866
Young Lady in 1866, Edouard Manet  French, Oil on canvas
Edouard Manet
1866
Mademoiselle V. . . in the Costume of an Espada, Edouard Manet  French, Oil on canvas
Edouard Manet
1862
Antoine Dominique Sauveur Aubert (born 1817), the Artist's Uncle, Paul Cézanne  French, Oil on canvas
Paul Cézanne
1866
James-Jacques-Joseph Tissot (1836–1902), Edgar Degas  French, Oil on canvas
Edgar Degas
ca. 1867–68
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Tinterow, Gary, and Henri Loyrette. 1994. Origins of Impressionism. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art : Distributed by H.N. Abrams.