The Impressionist Art Movement is one of the better-known movements in the world. The artwork that was produced during this time period changed the way that art was looked at and how it was created. This art movement was revolutionary; therefore, it is understandable that it started after a great political upheaval in French history. Throughout this paper I will be examining the relationship between the wars of France and how they eventually led to the beginning of the Impressionist Art Movement and furthermore will be examining the aspects that connect these subjects.
Before going into the connections, a brief history is required on some of the major wars that shaped France before the Impressionist Art Movement. One of the major wars that eventually led to this innovative movement was the French Revolutionary War. The French Revolutionary War began in 1787. It influenced French society and began the end of the French monarchy. The French Revolution began with the Estates-General meeting for the first time since 1614. The Estates-General is a council that is comprised of elected officials from the three estates that made up the French class system. These estates were the clergy, the royals and nobility, and the common French people. The representatives of the estate of the common people consisted of just around 600 citizens who were elected. This group of commoner representatives later called themselves the National Assembly. This name was announced on June 17, 1789. The monarchy of France felt threatened by the fact that the French subjects were banding together and tried to stop the Assembly from meeting. The National Assembly continued to meet in order to create a new constitution despite the efforts of the monarchy. It swiftly got to the point that the King was willing to send troops to keep the Assembly from meeting. Events came to a head when the king dismissed an ally of the National assembly, a man named Jacques Necker who held the position of the king’s liberal finance minister. These events caused riots to occur and resulted in the overrun of Bastille. Shortly afterwards, the French monarchy was abolished and a new constitution was instated. The events of this war eventually led to Napoleon Bonaparte taking over the rule of France. Napoleon led a military campaign that continued to change the political workings of France and also expanded his rule across Europe. Napoleon was successful until he attempted to invade Russia in winter. This weakened his forces and led his enemies to defeat him. Napoleon was exiled and the monarchy returned to France. This was a step backwards in the progress that the French people had made to gain independence from the crown. Though, the returning monarchy did have to make concessions to the people and the constitution that they had put in place. (Issitt)
All of the fighting during these years had a large impact on the way that the citizens viewed the world and how they interacted with it. The wars and revolutions changed how the people viewed politics, freedom, war, and so much more. Due to the change in the way that the people saw the way the country should work, it is clear that the people were not content to leave things as they were. More revolutions soon followed in France and throughout Europe. One of these revolutions was the Paris Revolution of 1848. This revolution is also known as the February Revolution. This revolution consisted of the French people once again rising up against the monarchy of France. Many factors contributed to the beginning of this revolution. (Flaningam)
The events during this revolution affected the people who would be a large part of creating the beginnings of the Impressionist Art Movement. The political turmoil of the time shaped their childhoods and the people of France. These people who connect the Paris Revolution of 1848 to the Impressionist Art Movement are Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
Manet, Monet, Renoir showed work in the Paris Salon. The Paris Salon had a large impact on the Impressionist movement. It was there that the Impressionists began to show artwork to the public and cause a revolution in the way that art was created. The Salon was an art exhibition that was supported and sponsored by the French government. King Louis XIV helped the exhibition over one hundred years before the French Revolution when he started supported an exhibit that was comprised of the artworks created by artists at the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. The salon was actually named after where the location of the first exhibition was held. This was the Salon d’Apollon in the Louvre Palace. Years passed and eventually the Salon was a yearly exhibition instead of an event that took place every now and then. The Salon was an exclusive show and exhibition before the French Revolution. Afterward, the Salon was open to all artists in France instead of just the artists who were a part of academia. (Britannica) Without the Salon and the events of the French Revolutionary War, the artists of the Impressionist movement would have had a harder time displaying their art for the public. The Salon created a platform for artists across France to display works of art. Displaying artwork at the Salon also had another impact on the Impressionist movement. It helped create a network between artists and allowed them to gain inspiration from their contemporaries. This network eventually led to artists of the Impressionist Movement to create their own exhibitions that were separate from the Salon. (Gowing)
Eduoard Manet was one of the first artists to use the beginnings of the Impressionist painting techniques. Though he did not consider himself an Impressionist. (Sanna 47). His work influenced Claude Monet who was also a painter at the time. Monet created the distinguishing aspects of the Impressionist painting style with the help of Renoir. Monet had made the choice to collaborate with another artist after he had already been painting in a similar style for a few years. They produced this painting style while working together along the banks of the Seine River in 1869. When analyzing the paintings that were created during this time, historians were able to distinguish which painter contributed certain aspects to the style. It was Monet who introduced the individual brushstrokes of the painting style along with the use of color. Renoir’s contributions consisted of aspects that affected the quality of the work, such as the lightness throughout the works and how this style was use to depict people. Pissarro also contributed to the development of this movement through the use and type of medium that was used. (Gowing)
A year after Monet began working with Renoir on the Impressionist style, the Franco-Prussian War Began on July 17, 1870. During this war France was conquered by Prussia and Germany. This ended the political influence France had gained over Europe during the rule of Napoleon I. (Issitt)
Monet created an artwork titled Impression, Sunrise, which coined the name of the Impressionist movement. (Sanna 47) This artwork is a prime example of the Impressionist movement. The use of color and brush strokes shows the style of the Impressionist period, as does the subject matter. (Impression, Sunrise) This painting was displayed two years after its completion in 1874 at an exhibition. At this exhibition, the painting was ridiculed by Louis Leroy, an art critic at the time, for its vague shapes and the sketch-like quality of the work. (Gowing) It was Leroy who named the Impressionists, using the title of Monet’s artwork as inspiration. He accused the Impressionists of returning to the free spirit of the people that were seen during the February Revolution. (Kuspit)